New York Pro Musica Antiqua
Music Division | JOB 82-5
37 linear feet (71 boxes)
The organizational records of the New York Pro Musica, an American ensemble of singers and instrumentalists dedicated to the performance of early music, founded by Noah Greenberg in 1952. The collection includes correspondence, meeting minutes,...
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The organizational records of the New York Pro Musica, an American ensemble of singers and instrumentalists dedicated to the performance of early music, founded by Noah Greenberg in 1952. The collection includes correspondence, meeting minutes, business, financial and fundraising records, photographs, programs, and material documenting various instruments, performing ensembles and musical dramas.
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New York Singing Teachers' Association
Music Division | JPB 04-19
7.25 linear feet linear feet (14 boxes)
The New York Singing Teachers' Association (NYSTA), first named the National Association of Teachers of Singing, strives to provide teachers with the tools and inspiration needed for an informed and creative pedagogy. NYSTA's Officers and Board,...
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The New York Singing Teachers' Association (NYSTA), first named the National Association of Teachers of Singing, strives to provide teachers with the tools and inspiration needed for an informed and creative pedagogy. NYSTA's Officers and Board, all of whom work on a strictly volunteer basis, meet monthly to make decisions about all aspects of NYSTA's activities--e.g. programs, courses, publications, finances, student competitions (awards and recitals), bi-annual composer's concerts, workshops (on pedagogy, voice science, etc), meetings (monthly, discussion group and luncheon or dinner group.), and membership (active and associate membership). As such, NYSTA members draw on the advances in voice science, neurology, psychology, education theory, medicine, and mind/body healing to offer new information and techniques for their pupils.
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Cantata Singers (New York, N.Y.)
Music Division | JPB 06-73
16 linear feet (29 boxes)
The Cantata Singers was one of the first groups in the United States to attempt authentic performances of Baroque music and set a standard for basing performances on expert direction supported by methodical research. The Cantata Singers Records...
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The Cantata Singers was one of the first groups in the United States to attempt authentic performances of Baroque music and set a standard for basing performances on expert direction supported by methodical research. The Cantata Singers Records consists of those records which the non-profit organization retained over the course of some 37 years in operation including materials related to their concerts as well as correspondence, administrative files, minutes of the organization’s meetings, financial records, and documentation of their incorporation.
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Sommer, Susan T.
Music Division | JPB 14-19
4.2 linear feet (10 boxes)
Susan Thiemann (Suki) Sommer (1935-2008) was an American music librarian, teacher, and scholar. The Susan T. Sommer papers, dating from 1965 to 1987, primarily document her activities in the Music Library Association and her teaching career at the...
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Susan Thiemann (Suki) Sommer (1935-2008) was an American music librarian, teacher, and scholar. The Susan T. Sommer papers, dating from 1965 to 1987, primarily document her activities in the Music Library Association and her teaching career at the Columbia University School of Library Services.
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Ear, Inc
Music Division | JPB 03-10
37.25 linear feet (72 boxes)
The Ear Magazine Records document the operation of a small press magazine of new music, and contains items that describe the music culture of the 1980s and early 1990s.
Berger, Arthur, 1912-2003
Music Division | JPB 04-38
16.78 linear feet (45 boxes)
The Arthur Berger Papers contain primarily his analytical documentation of 20th century music, and his compositions from the 1940s-1990s.
Symphony Space (Firm)
Music Division | JPB 16-16
80.34 linear feet (132 boxes, 28 volumes); 14.69 gb (9421 computer files)
Symphony Space, founded in 1978, is a multidisciplinary performing arts center located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The Symphony Space records (1978-2016) document the history, operation, and programming activity of the...
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Symphony Space, founded in 1978, is a multidisciplinary performing arts center located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The Symphony Space records (1978-2016) document the history, operation, and programming activity of the organization through Administrative Files, Programming Files, and Photographs.
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Burns, Ethel
Music Division | LPA Mss 2011-001
10.29 linear feet (25 boxes)
The Ethel Burns papers document the music, arts and children's programs Burns produced and directed at radio/television station WNYE and television station WCBS in New York City. The files include scripts, correspondence, production information,...
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The Ethel Burns papers document the music, arts and children's programs Burns produced and directed at radio/television station WNYE and television station WCBS in New York City. The files include scripts, correspondence, production information, press releases, reviews and photographs. Among other programs, the collection contains information on the series American Musical Theatre and Dial M For Music.
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Labunski, Felix, 1892-1979
Music Division | JPB 02-4
2 linear feet (5 boxes)
Papers documenting the career of Felix Labunski, a Polish-born American composer, between the 1930s and the 1970s. Includes correspondence, clippings, programs, grant applications, notebooks, and scores.
Gauthier, Eva, 1885-1958
Music Division | JPB 13-29
4.82 linear feet (14 boxes)
Éva Gauthier (1885-1958) was a Canadian-American vocalist best known for her performances of contemporary music and her associations with George Gershwin, Igor Stravinsky, and other composers. The Éva Gauthier papers, dating from 1899 to 1960,...
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Éva Gauthier (1885-1958) was a Canadian-American vocalist best known for her performances of contemporary music and her associations with George Gershwin, Igor Stravinsky, and other composers. The Éva Gauthier papers, dating from 1899 to 1960, document the singer's life and career through correspondence; photographs; writings; programs and publicity material; business and legal records; and clippings.
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Wigglesworth, Frank, 1918-1996
Music Division | JPB 97-44
432 linear ft. : 95 boxes
The Frank Wigglesworth Papers document Wigglesworth's life and career. The collection was assembled by Wigglesworth over the course of his lifetime, and includes musical scores, correspondence, clippings, programs, miscellaneous papers,...
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The Frank Wigglesworth Papers document Wigglesworth's life and career. The collection was assembled by Wigglesworth over the course of his lifetime, and includes musical scores, correspondence, clippings, programs, miscellaneous papers, iconography, and books. Correspondents include Henry and Sidney Cowell, Lou Harrison, Otto Luening, Virgil Thomson, and Edgard Varèse among many others. Maurice Sendak and Adlai Stevenson are represented by one letter each. Lou Harrison's letter of February 12, 1952, contains the autograph score of his Serenade for Guitar, spontaneously composed for Wigglesworth. Series A/4 contains other autograph scores by Harrison and by Otto Luening, a manuscript score by Vittorio Rieti, and reproductions of manuscript scores by Paul Arma, Chester Biscardi, Edward V. Bonnemere, Richard Brooks, John Cage, Gerald C. Chenoweth, Edward T. Cone, Stefania M. De Kenessey, Aaron Einbond, Daniel S. Godfrey, Daron Aric Hagen, Jose Halac, Reiko Ito, Barbara Kolb, Robert Maggio, Denman Maroney, Henry Martin, Lucas Mason, Richard Owen, Peter Phillips, David L. Post, David Rakowski, Loren Rush, Marvin Salzberg, John Sembret, Davy Temperley, Virgil Thomson, Brian Wilson, Marilyn Ziffrin, and Ellen Taafe Zwilich. Sound recordings originally with the collection are now housed in the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound.
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Levine, Rhoda
Music Division | JPB 11-4.
26.59 linear feet (72 boxes, 3 audio_files, 4 video_files)
The Rhoda Levine Papers document the career of the opera director, mainly through files on each of the many stage and opera productions on which she worked as dancer, choreographer or director. The papers contain annotated scores and libretti;...
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The Rhoda Levine Papers document the career of the opera director, mainly through files on each of the many stage and opera productions on which she worked as dancer, choreographer or director. The papers contain annotated scores and libretti; costume, stage and set designs; choreographic, rehearsal and performance notes; programs; clippings; photographs; and audio/visual recordings.
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Toscanini, Arturo, 1867-1957
Music Division | JPB 90-1
330 linear feet
Arturo Toscanini was born in Parma, Italy, on March 25, 1867, and died in Riverdale, New York, on January 16, 1957. Many regard him as one of the world's greatest conductors. In addition, Toscanini's anti-Fascist stance during World War II...
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Arturo Toscanini was born in Parma, Italy, on March 25, 1867, and died in Riverdale, New York, on January 16, 1957. Many regard him as one of the world's greatest conductors. In addition, Toscanini's anti-Fascist stance during World War II distinguished him as a symbol of freedom and humanity. His extraordinarily long career began in 1886, when Italian orchestral conductors were still relatively few in number, and extended into the 1950s, by which time his radio and television broadcasts had transformed him into a cultural icon. The Toscanini Legacy papers form a portion of the Toscanini Legacy housed at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The other major portion, of sound recordings, is housed in NYPL's Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound. The papers in the Music Division consist of music scores and orchestral parts with and without markings by Arturo Toscanini and others (including composers in some instances), correspondence, photographs, programs, clippings, books, newspapers, brochures, periodicals, scrapbooks, and medical and financial records. Subjects include the various musical organizations in Europe and the United States with which Toscanini was associated, and his anti-Fascist activities. The hundreds of correspondents include family members, composers, performers, conductors, and music critics; as well as Italian exiles, and U.S. and Italian political figures.
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International Society for Contemporary Music
Music Division | JPB 11-5
7.98 linear feet (20 boxes)
The League of Composers / International Society for Contemporary Music records contain the papers of the League's co-founder and first Executive Director, Claire Raphael Reis; the records of both the League of Composers and the United States...
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The League of Composers / International Society for Contemporary Music records contain the papers of the League's co-founder and first Executive Director, Claire Raphael Reis; the records of both the League of Composers and the United States section of the ISCM before their 1954 merger; and the post-1954 records of the combined League/ISCM.
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Sembrich, Marcella, 1858-1935
Music Division | JPB 91-94
75 linear feet
Marcella Sembrich was a Polish born coloratura soprano who sang leading roles in European and American opera during her highly successful career. From 1898 to 1909 she was a regular member of the Metropolitan Opera Company, New York. She continued...
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Marcella Sembrich was a Polish born coloratura soprano who sang leading roles in European and American opera during her highly successful career. From 1898 to 1909 she was a regular member of the Metropolitan Opera Company, New York. She continued performing as a concert singer after her retirement from the operatic stage. Sembrich also became an instructor of singing at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School of Music, becoming mentor to many pupils who later became famous in their own right. The correspondence, papers, posters, and programs in this collection represent the career and activities of Marcella Sembrich and her family from 1851 to 1988. The collection consists of an extensive amount of correspondence with the leading musical figures of the day; posters, concert advertisements and programs from Sembrich (and other) performances throughout her career; and memorabilia including an autograph album with signatures and drawings of famous musicians and others. Series IX "Photographs" also includes some 15-20 original graphic art works among its 2284 items. Subjects include Sembrich, places she lived, places she performed, and people with whom she performed. The sheet music and musical scores (Series X) are currently being processed.
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Reese, Gustave, 1899-1977
Music Division | JPB 92-71
42 linear ft. : 102 boxes
An American musicologist, teacher, and editor, Gustave Reese is best known as the author of Music in the Middle Ages (1940) and Music in the Renaissance (1954; rev 1959). Reese divided his time between publishing and academia. He was director of...
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An American musicologist, teacher, and editor, Gustave Reese is best known as the author of Music in the Middle Ages (1940) and Music in the Renaissance (1954; rev 1959). Reese divided his time between publishing and academia. He was director of publications for both G. Schirmer (1940-45) and Carl Fischer (1944-55). His teaching at New York University and other institutions helped to shape the direction of American musicology. Reese was one of the founding members of the American Musicological Society, and he subsequently served as its secretary (1934-46), vice-president (1946-50) and president (1950-1952). He was also vice-president of the Plainsong and Mediaeval Music Society (1958) and president of the Renaissance Society of America (1971-73). The Gustave Reese papers documents the career of Gustave Reese. The collection was assembled by Reese himself, and includes correspondence, research materials, book drafts, student assignments, organizational papers, offprints of articles, travel information, and a few personal documents. Series 2 includes facsimiles of the music examples that appear in Willi Apel's The Notation of Polyphonic Music, 900-1600. Two reels of audio tape originally with the collection are now housed in the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound.
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Lachmund, Carl, 1853-1928
Music Division | JPB 92-1
The Carl V. Lachmund Collection represents the musical career of Carl Lachmund, a student of Franz Liszt, and Lachmund's subsequent devotion to the remembrance of Liszt's personality and the advancement of his music.
Composers' Forum (U.S.)
Music Division | JPB 12-01
11 linear feet (27 boxes)
The records of the Composers' Forum document the history of the organization from 1935 to 2002. They hold correspondence, concert programs, press releases, clippings, grant applications and other development files, board meeting minutes and...
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The records of the Composers' Forum document the history of the organization from 1935 to 2002. They hold correspondence, concert programs, press releases, clippings, grant applications and other development files, board meeting minutes and correspondence, photographs, membership files, concert production files, concert discussion transcripts, historical essays and scrapbooks.
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Druckman, Jacob, 1928-1996
Music Division | JPB 00-1
57 linear feet (95 boxes)
The Jacob Druckman Collection documents the life and career of Jacob Druckman (1928-1996), a Pulitzer-prize winning composer, educator, and organizer of the New York Philharmonic's Horizons series of new music concerts. The collection, assembled...
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The Jacob Druckman Collection documents the life and career of Jacob Druckman (1928-1996), a Pulitzer-prize winning composer, educator, and organizer of the New York Philharmonic's Horizons series of new music concerts. The collection, assembled by Druckman over the course of his lifetime, with additional material inserted posthumously by his family, includes musical scores, correspondence, clippings, programs, and iconography; the collection's sound recordings are housed in the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archive of Recorded Sound and have been cataloged as a separate component. The New York Public Library acquired the Jacob Druckman Collection in December 1999. The music, papers, and iconography in the Jacob Druckman Collection represent the professional and personal interests of their namesake. The collection accrued naturally through Druckman's activities as composer, conductor, teacher, and concert organizer, and it is augmented by documents related to the organizations that he served as a board member, officer, or adjudicator. There is also a small amount of material concerning the work of Druckman's wife, the dance scholar Muriel Topaz. The bulk of the collection falls between 1949 and 1996, the period from Druckman's college graduation to his death.
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National Association for American Composers and Conductors
Music Division | JPB 03-15
27.7 linear feet (65 boxes)
The National Association for American Composers and Conductors, Inc. (NAACC) was founded by Henry K. Hadley in 1933. It was an organization dedicated to the task of fostering American Music. The collection contains correspondence, legal and...
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The National Association for American Composers and Conductors, Inc. (NAACC) was founded by Henry K. Hadley in 1933. It was an organization dedicated to the task of fostering American Music. The collection contains correspondence, legal and financial statements, minutes of meetings, programs, bulletins, clippings, photographs, reports, membership records, plots and wood block prints.
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Monk, Meredith
Music Division | LPA Mss 2006-001
130 linear feet (300 boxes)
The Meredith Monk Archive documents the art of Meredith Monk and the history of The House Foundation For The Arts, Monk’s management and production company. The Archive contains correspondence, media clippings, concert programs, publicity...
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The Meredith Monk Archive documents the art of Meredith Monk and the history of The House Foundation For The Arts, Monk’s management and production company. The Archive contains correspondence, media clippings, concert programs, publicity material, writings, piece and project files, scores, business and financial papers, photographs and drawings, posters, and books.
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Hitchcock, H. Wiley (Hugh Wiley), 1923-2007
Music Division | JPB 09-5
29 linear feet (71 boxes)
H. Wiley Hitchcock, an American musicologist, was influential in advancing the study of American music in the United States. He was a noted scholar of Charles Ives and Henry Cowell, and the founder and longtime director of the Institute for the...
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H. Wiley Hitchcock, an American musicologist, was influential in advancing the study of American music in the United States. He was a noted scholar of Charles Ives and Henry Cowell, and the founder and longtime director of the Institute for the Studies of American Music (ISAM) at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. His papers document his research, writings and other scholarly activity, and the work done by ISAM during his tenure as director (1971-1993).
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Dello Joio, Norman, 1913-2008
Music Division | JPB 00-5
33.55 linear feet (66 boxes)
Norman Dello Joio is a pianist, organist, educator and a Pulitzer Prize winning composer. The collection contains materials related to his work; including business related correspondence (from individuals and institutes), personal papers...
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Norman Dello Joio is a pianist, organist, educator and a Pulitzer Prize winning composer. The collection contains materials related to his work; including business related correspondence (from individuals and institutes), personal papers (financial, biographical, some photographs, speeches and writings), performance files (programs and other related items), musical scores, clippings, ephemera, and scrapbooks.
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Jenkins, Leroy
Music Division | JPB 23-3
13.02 linear feet (34 boxes, 3 oversize folders). 785.0 megabytes (398 computer files)
Leroy Jenkins (1932-2007) was a Black American violinist and composer associated with the avant-garde jazz movement of the 1970s. A charter member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Jenkins' work as a player and...
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Leroy Jenkins (1932-2007) was a Black American violinist and composer associated with the avant-garde jazz movement of the 1970s. A charter member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Jenkins' work as a player and composer pushed the limits of jazz, while Jenkins' work as a composer included operas, orchestral works, and dance. The Leroy Jenkins papers date from the 1930s to 2022 and include scores, charts, notes, notebooks, correspondence, photographs, and recordings.
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Persichetti, Vincent, 1915-1987
Music Division | JPB 90-77
111 linear feet (206 boxes)
Vincent Persichetti, American composer, educator and author, studied the piano with Olga Samaroff and composition with Paul Nordoff at the Philadelphia Conservatory, and conducting with Fritz Reiner at the Curtis Institute. In 1941 he was...
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Vincent Persichetti, American composer, educator and author, studied the piano with Olga Samaroff and composition with Paul Nordoff at the Philadelphia Conservatory, and conducting with Fritz Reiner at the Curtis Institute. In 1941 he was appointed to teach at the Philadelphia Conservatory, and in 1947 he joined the faculty of the Juilliard School. From 1952 he also served as Editorial Director for Elkan-Vogel. In 1961, Persichetti’s
Twentieth Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice was published by W.W. Norton and was immediately viewed as the definitive book on modern compositional techniques. Over the course of his career, he received commissions from the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Louisville Philharmonic Society, the Naumberg Foundation, the Samaroff Foundation, the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation, the American Guild of Organists, universities and individual performers.
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Petrides, Frédérique, 1903-1983
Music Division | JPB 83-3
13 boxes ; 39 x 30 x 8 cm
The Frédérique Petrides Papers document her career as violinist, conductor and teacher, editor and publisher, and advocate for women as professional musicians. The bulk of the collection is correspondence. See also: Petrides in NYPL Digital...
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The Frédérique Petrides Papers document her career as violinist, conductor and teacher, editor and publisher, and advocate for women as professional musicians. The bulk of the collection is correspondence. See also: Petrides in NYPL Digital Gallery (04/2008).
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Becker, John J.
Music Division | JPB 04-27
24.25 linear feet (61 boxes)
John J. Becker was the only Midwestern member of a group of ultramodernist American composers known as the “American Five”. He was known for his use of difficult techniques of counterpoint and harmony. Becker’s most important works include more
John J. Becker was the only Midwestern member of a group of ultramodernist American composers known as the “American Five”. He was known for his use of difficult techniques of counterpoint and harmony. Becker’s most important works include
Symphonia Brevis (1930-1931),
A Marriage with Space (1935), and
Privilege and Privation (1939). The bulk of the collection consists of scores, correspondence, and papers relating to his professional life as a composer, conductor, and educator.
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Ronell, Ann
Music Division | JPB 02-1
8.5 linear feet (26 boxes)
Ann Ronell was a songwriter and lyricist who had an extensive career working on film scores and in musical theater in numerous capacities. The Papers include material pertaining to her professional activities along with some personal...
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Ann Ronell was a songwriter and lyricist who had an extensive career working on film scores and in musical theater in numerous capacities. The Papers include material pertaining to her professional activities along with some personal correspondence. The bulk of the materials date from the early 1920s through the 1970s, and includes scores, correspondence, subject files, biographical material, financial records and photographs. A small amount of material pertaining exclusively to the activities of her husband, Lester Cowan, are included in the papers.
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Cowell, Henry, 1897-1965
Music Division | JPB 00-03 [Text]
82.3 linear feet (203 boxes)
The Henry Cowell Papers document the composer’s life in great detail. They include scores, writings, correspondence, business and financial papers, promotional material, clippings and articles, concert programs, teaching material, photographs,...
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The Henry Cowell Papers document the composer’s life in great detail. They include scores, writings, correspondence, business and financial papers, promotional material, clippings and articles, concert programs, teaching material, photographs, awards and scrapbooks.
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Briece, Jack, 1945-1988
Music Division | JPB 06-25
22 linear feet (43 boxes)
Born in 1945, Jack Briece was an American composer, organist and pianist, video artist, educator, and author, whose creative output was original and inventive. Most of this collection contains Briece’s diary, written on index cards and documenting...
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Born in 1945, Jack Briece was an American composer, organist and pianist, video artist, educator, and author, whose creative output was original and inventive. Most of this collection contains Briece’s diary, written on index cards and documenting his personal study of astrology, planetary movements, and the I-Ching, which informed every aspect of his life and inspired much of his output as an artist. However, of particular interest are the music series and the records surrounding Briece’s travels in Finland. The music materials demonstrate Briece’s use and personal development of conventional as well as modern and experimental orchestration techniques. The materials related to Finland represent a particularly active and creative time for the composer, his involvement with the newly developing videotape medium, and the culmination of much of his work up until his untimely death in 1988.
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