Good day, colleagues. One of the reasons that I have an interest in writing for ChoralNet is to tell you of the wonders I found in the summer of 2013 when I went to the National Office to research in the Archives. Scott Dorsey was a wonderful host and all of the staff at the National Office were very welcoming. I spent two days, and if I had more time would have stayed longer…there are gems in the stacks on the second floor archive!
Here are a few things I found during a cursory glance through boxes and files:
1) Archives of state newsletters from the beginning of their publication. As I was state president for Virginia at the time I wanted to do research on the past officers and news of the time. As past president for Virginia ACDA I now have the time to begin the process of de-coding all that I found there. As a president you receive the state newsletters from all of the states, but it was interesting to see the variance of focus for newsletters in design and content.
2) Recordings from our National Conferences. Of particular interest to me is that these are simply stored in boxes. I think it is important that we consider having all of these files digitized, which I understand is an expensive venture. Imagine performances representing the Choral Heritage of William Dawson. Many of us can remember performances at National or Divisional Conferences that stirred our souls. The recordings for many of these performance are there, simply on a shelf.
3) Boxes of notes from Harold Decker. It was a treat to look through his syllabi from 1955, to see that those of us teaching conducting and choral literature are still focusing on the same basic concepts. There are also some of his analyzed scores.
4) In the files of Charles Hirt are letters from Robert Shaw to the Collegiate Chorale. His notes to the choir were always regarding something to improve the sound – intonation and diction for example. It was interesting to note that some of the concerns we have as choir directors today are the same that he noted.
5) Janet Yamron’s Collection of Elaine Brown’s papers. There are notes of her study with Nadia Boulanger, from her daily study to conclusions regarding musical interpretation.
I will begin blogs in the next few weeks from some of the notes I have found interesting and inspirational. I look forward to sharing what I have found with you. Those of you in the MM and DMA degree track a word of encouragement…there are numerous potential projects for your research in our archives. A trip to the National Office is worth the gas or plane fare! Our organization is wise to save our history as we make it every day.
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