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Creator
Mills, Margaret (Margaret Aydelotte)
Call number
JPB 16-02
Physical description
1.3 linear feet (4 boxes)
Preferred Citation
Margaret Mills papers, JPB 16-02. Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Music Division
Access to materials
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Margaret Mills is an American concert pianist. She made her debut in 1974 and has performed throughout the United States and internationally. Her repertoire includes traditional European music and newer American works, many of them by women composers. The collection consists of letters from Mills to her family written whilst in Germany, 1955-1956; concert, festival, and solo recital programs; letters; contracts; press clippings; and photographs. The collection also contains musical scores autographed by the composers.

Biographical/historical information

Margaret Mills is an American concert pianist. She made her debut in 1974 and has performed throughout the United States and internationally. Her repertoire includes traditional European music and newer American works, many of them by women composers. She graduated from Vassar College with the Frances Walker Piano Prize, and pursued her studies in Freiburg, Germany before returning to the United States to complete her master's degree at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. She is associated with the Third Street Chamber Music School Settlement in New York City as a teacher and administrator.

Scope and arrangement

The Margaret Mills papers date from 1948 to 2014 and document Mills's career as a pianist through programs for concerts, festivals, and recitals; letters; contracts and commissions; photographs; scores; and press clippings

The collection consists chiefly of programs for performances from her student years to 2014. Mills's letters to her family whilst studying in Germany (1955-1956) document her day-to-day life and early experiences as a pianist. These are the only outgoing letters in the collection; much correspondence is in the form of letters of praise and appreciation, including from Seymour Bernstein, Gloria Coates, and Eugene List. Other letters are from event organizers, composers, and musicians and mostly relate to Mills's work as a pianist. Contracts and agreements with event organizers document information on works to be played, rights, and honorarium details. Photographs include publicity portraits, photos of Mills performing and with other musicians. Copies and originals of newspaper and journal articles, including CD reviews, record Mills's musical achievements throughout her career. The music scores are dedicated and autographed by the composers Miriam Gideon, Ruth Schonthal, Lowell Liebermann Eugene McBride, Ruth Crawford (score is signed by Crawford's daughter), James Park, Deborah Karasch, and Betty Wishart, and may include markings. There are several award certificates.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Margaret Mills, 2015.

Processing information

Compiled by Amelia Carlin, 2016.

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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 Chief, Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.