Scope and Content Note
The National Flute Association, Inc. Archives spans the conception of the organization in 1972 through 2012. The Archives consists of written documentation from various officers, board members, the executive office, convention chairs, competition chairs, committee chairs, and different publications of the association. The bulk of the material dates from the 1970s and 1980s. Substantial gaps exist in each series, especially from the mid-1980s and late 1990s. The Archives also includes the Arÿ van Leeuwen Collection which spans the years 1898 to 1957 and consists primarily of music manuscripts of his compositions and his arrangements of other composers, and printed music of other composers.
The Officers series includes historical convention material, correspondence, incorporation documents, by-laws, reports, minutes and action points, job descriptions, committee guidelines, and numerous other documents representing each office. Representative dates for the President and Vice President papers includes 1973-1982, 1987-1988, and 1993-1999. The positions of secretary and treasurer changed from joint responsibility to separate responsibilities over the course of the thirty years; representative dates are 1973-1977, 1979-1980, 1983-1989, 1993-1996, and 2000-2001.
The Board of Director series includes primarily documentation on different conventions, committee reports, and board meeting minutes. Only ten board members are represented from 1973-1982, 1990-1992, 1996-1998.
Papers from the Executive Offices consist of bank statements, bills, check stubs, a substantial amount of information for the 1988 convention, and invoices. The materials span 1978-1990 and the Procedural guidelines from 1995.
The Convention series includes material from conventions from 1973 through 2008, primarily through announcements, convention packets, program handouts, some black and white and color photographs, and publicity. Materials from the work of the Exhibits Coordinator from 1986-1988 are included as well as material from the program chairs for the 1988 and 1992 conventions and from the Local Arrangements Committee Chair for the 1997 convention.
The Competitions series consists of competition announcements from 1976 through 2001 with a gap of seven years in the 1980s. Materials from only a few competitions are represented: High School Flute Choir from 1989; Masterclass Performers from 1987-1991 and again from 1996-2001; Newly Published Music from 1976-1983 and again from 1995-1998. The Masterclass Performers materials include biographies, correspondence, entry forms, list of winners and alternates.
The Committee series includes materials from twenty committees and spans 1974 through 2001. The earliest committee represented is the Flute Collecting and Collections Committee (1974) which appears to have existed only for that year. The Nominating Committee includes the 1998 materials for the NFA Candidates. The most comprehensive materials are from the activities of the Performance Health Care Committee (1990-1997), beginning when it was called the Dysfunction Committee from 1984-1990. The Oral History Committee includes interviews of all the Presidents from 1972 through 1998 in addition to several Program Chairs and a few members who served in other capacities during the 1980s. The New Music Advisory Committee’s materials include music manuscripts and printed music by Chester Bicardi, Michael Colquhoun, and Arthur V. Kreiger who were commissioned by the NFA to compose works for competitions. The Special Publications Committee materials includes The NFA 20th Anniversary Anthology of American Flute Musicand the Kincaidiana: A Flute Player's Notebookpublications and well as material from the National Flute Association Historic Recordings Series.
The Appointment series consists of materials from seven different appointments, spanning 1974 through 2002. The appointees represented are Archivist-Historian, Concert-Lecture Network, Dayton C. Miller Collection Liaison, Flute Clubs, Music Library Positions Available Service, and the Resource Room. The most extensive materials are from 1990-1995 when the Archivist-Historian collected materials for the future National Flute Association, Inc. Archives. Among the materials are Policy Decisions by Topic and by Year from 1985 through 1991. Music Library Catalogs dating from 1975 to 1989 are represented in the Music Library appointment.
The Publications series encompasses materials relating to the annual conventions, periodicals published by the association, membership rosters, and special gifts to the association. The early periodical publications of the association include Woodwind World and the Newsletter. Materials from Eleanor Lawrence, the editor of the Newsletter from 1977 to 1984, consist of correspondence, drafts of the newsletter, and photographs of various NFA members and visiting artists. Materials from Sandy Schwoebel, editor of The Flutist Quarterly from 1989 to 1998, consist of correspondence, convention photographs from 1973 to 1998 (excluding 1985), manuscripts of published and rejected articles, and material for the 25th Anniversary edition which includes extensive photographs of early conventions and individual flutists. The three noteworthy Special Gifts are: Versuch einter Anweisung die Flöte traversiere zu spielen by Johann Joachim Quantz, donated to the association by past president, Bernard Goldberg; Porträts-Sammlung hervorragender Flöten-Virtuosen, Dillettanten und Komponisten by Adolph Goldberg, donated by Michel Debost; and Das Vademecum des Flötenspielers, Op. 35, Teil I-II by Leonardo De Lorenzo, donated by the Los Angeles Flute Club. Also, included are Convention Program books from 1973-2012, Membership Roster books from 1978-2008, The Flutist's Handbook: A Pedagogy Anthology volumes I and II, and copies of Selected Flute Repertoire and Studies from 2001, 2005, and 2009.
The papers of flutist, composer, and arranger Arÿ van Leeuwen (1875-1953) form the Arÿ van Leeuwen Collection and the ninth series within the National Flute Association, Inc. Archives. Arÿ van Leeuwen was born in Arnheim, Holland, and by the age of 14 was a member of Holland's leading symphony orchestra. At eighteen he began a series of concert tours, appearing in many European countries. In 1901 he visited America and became principal flute of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. By 1903, he was principal flute with the Royal Opera in Vienna. He returned to America in 1921, playing with the Philadelphia symphony and the New York symphony orchestras. He toured with Lily Pons in 1931, performing obligatos to opera arias and flute solos. In 1924, he became principal flute of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. By 1938, van Leeuwen had left the orchestra to reside in Los Angeles, where he remained active until his death in 1953. He always considered it a privilege to study with Joachim Andersen (1847-1909), “one of the greatest flute players of his period.”
The collection spans the years 1898 to 1957. The collection consists of: music manuscripts of scores and parts, written and arranged by van Leeuwen; printed music by van Leeuwen and other composers, primarily flute composers; photographs of van Leeuwen and signed photographs of Walter Gieseking, Eugene Goossens, Jean Sibelius, and Felix Weingartner; and four scrapbooks that include newspaper clippings, programs, and correspondence which span the years from 1898 to 1952. Among the correspondence is a postcard from Siegfried Wagner, dated November 25, 1913. His writings include an instructional manuscript on the Boehm flute for a one-armed flutist. Artwork is also included.