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Creator
Wilson, John W., 1927-1992
Call number
JPB 04-6
Physical description
7 linear feet (22 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation

John Wilson Papers, JPB 04-6. Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Music Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

The John Wilson papers document his career as a composer, choreographer, and teacher. The collection contains scores dating from Wilson’s college years in the early 1950s, materials relating to his career as a dancer and a teacher and other supporting materials.

Biographical/historical information

John Wilson performed, taught and created dance and music. He was born in Los Angeles in 1948 and studied language and dance at Pomona College in Claremont, California. He also studied dance in New York with Katherine Dunham and trained in eurythmics at the Delcroze Institute in Geneva. Wilson was a founding member of the Joffrey Ballet Co. with whom he danced from 1956 until 1964 when he joined the Harkness Ballet.

He appeared on ABC-TV, with the NBC Opera Co., and with the NYC Opera. He also staged opera for the Fifth Ave. Opera Co. As a choreographer, Mr. Wilson presented works in NY with his own company, at Dancers Studio, ChoreoConcerts, and the Dance Theater Workshop. Wilson’s work has been performed by such small theater groups as the SoHo Rep, LaMama and South Street Theater in New York, and the Theater Group in Los Angeles. He danced as a solo performer, appeared in the companies of Joyce Trisler, Pearl Lang, Anna Sokolow and Valerie Bettis, and with the Julliard Dance Theater under the direction of Doris Humphrey.

Wilson toured America and Europe with the Dance Theater Workshop, and collaborated with Lenore Latimer at the American Theater Workshop. He was also a member of Kei Takei’s Moving Earth. Wilson was a scholar of the Dada Surrealist movement and presented lectures and workshops on the subject at Colorado College, University of Illinois, Vassar College and the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts.

Wilson served on the faculty of the Julliard School, the School of Theater at Boston University, Connecticut College, the Lincoln Center Insitute, the Laban Center of London and the Harkness School. For two seasons he was artist-in-residence at the University of Buffalo. He toured to Russia, India and around USA with the Harkness Ballet. John Wilson also served on the board of Dance Theater Workshop and was a member of Actor’s Equity and The Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.

John Wilson died of AIDS in the Veterans Administration Hospital of Manhattan on February 24, 1992.

Source: The New York TimesObituary. "John Wilson, a Joffrey Founder, Choreographer and Teacher, 64." Proquest Historical Newspapers, The New York Times (1857-Current file): Feb. 28 1992, P. B6

Scope and arrangement

The collection of scores provides insight into Wilson’s training and artistic background. The scores document Wilson’s training at Pomona College, as well as some of the larger productions he staged while teaching at college and universities. Wilson’s writings include a number of critical reviews he wrote for WBAI radio. These writings chronicle Wilson’s artistic tastes in the late 1960s as he describes musical and dance events in the NYC area. Wilson’s teaching materials are mostly related to his tenure at the Julliard School of the Arts. The collection of programs and clippings add specific information and detail to the nature of Wilson’s compositions and performances.

The John Wilson papers are arranged in six series:

  • Series I: Scores
    1890 - 1970, Undated
    5 linear feet18 boxes

    This series, divided into two sub-series contains scores of individual pieces of music composed by Wilson, or used by Wilson in his studies.

  • Series II: Writings
    1960 - 1988, Undated
    .75 linear feet. 1.5 boxes

    John Wilson’s writings are mostly reviews and criticism of New York music and theater events from the late 1960s. These pieces were written for the radio show, Critical People which was a cultural forum on WBAI radio. There is also a copy of the libretto for the Washington Irving’s Knickerbocker Holiday with notes for the production by Wilson. The incomplete writings contain ideas, notes and drafts by Wilson.

  • Series III: Teaching Materials
    1956 - 1992, Undated
    .25 linear feet. .5 boxes

    John Wilson’s teaching materials include a syllabus for the class he taught at Julliard School for the Arts. This information was put together for his promotion and tenure board. There also some rough drafts of exercises Wilson used in his teaching. These provide an insight into Wilson’s ideas of stage performance.

  • Series IV: Programs, 1949 - 1984
    Undated
    .125 linear feet. .25 boxes

    This series contains programs spanning Wilson’s career in the Performing Arts. The materials present documented performances of Wilson as a dancer, musician, choreographer and director. A significant portion of the programs date from the period in the 1970’s when Wilson was active with the Dance Theater Workshop. There are also some programs from events in which Wilson was not a participant.

  • Series V: Clippings
    1960 - 1992, Undated
    .25 linear feet. .5 boxes

    The contents of this series includes; newspaper and magazine clippings in which a work of Wilson’s is reviewed, briefly mentioned, or contains a subject of interest to Wilson.

  • Series VI: Oversized Materials
    1950 - 1977, Undated
    .33 linear feet. 1 boxes

    The oversize materials are mostly holograph scores in ink. There is one poster from a production to which Wilson composed the music.

Administrative information

Processing information

Processed by Thomas Lannon; Machine-readable finding aid created by Thomas Lannon.

Separated material

Cassette of Sleeping Beauty Narration sent to Rogers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound.

Audiovisual materials separated from archival collections are cataloged individually and can be found in the Library catalog. Search CATNYP, The New York Public Library catalog.

Using the collection

Location

Music Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Music Division, The New York Library for the Performing Arts.

Access restrictions

Photocopying prohibited.