Wilmer T. Bartholomew, an active member of the Baltimore music community, was born in Shamokin, Penn., in 1902. He spent most of his adolescence living in Washington, D.C., later attending George Washington University where he received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics and psychology.

Bartholomew attended Peabody Conservatory, earning a teaching certificate in 1928. In 1930 he was appointed as a full-time assistant in the Research Department. He then went on to become a professor of acoustics until 1942. During his time at Peabody, he conducted research on the physiology of the voice and published books and articles related to his research.

He became director of the Goucher College Glee Club in 1939 and later became chairman of the music department there from 1942 to 1943. Bartholomew left the position to conduct research at the underwater sound laboratory at Harvard University during World War II. He continued his affiliation with Harvard as a research fellow in acoustics and as the choral director for the Longy School of Music in Cambridge.

Bartholomew was also involved in the local Maryland community, serving as choir director and organist at Liberty Grove Methodist Church and later at Bethesda United Methodist Church from 1961 to 1971.