Scope and Content Note
The Dana Suesse Papers span the years 1860 to 2016, the bulk of which date from 1930 to 1980. The Music series primarily consists of holograph scores, sketches, lead sheets, and parts for works composed by Suesse. The Music by Suesse subseries includes scores for her solo piano and orchestral works, musical comedy and popular songs, as well as indexes she compiled of lead sheets and song lyrics. The Other Music subseries includes harmony and counterpoint exercises from her studies with Nadia Boulanger, as well as arrangements made by Suesse for the piano duo Vera Brodsky and Harold Triggs. Brodsky and Triggs performed these two-piano arrangements of popular songs on the WJZ radio show True Ghost Stories. Additional music, primarily lead sheets, can also be found within the Project Files series and are noted when present.
The Project Files primarily consist of produced and unproduced plays and musicals, as well as information concerning individual compositions and her 1974 Carnegie Hall concert. Suesse organized each project in their own binder and material may include scripts, notes, lead sheets, lyric sheets, programs, correspondence, clippings, and holograph music.
The Correspondence consists of letters both to and from Suesse. Ample correspondence from her manager Miriam Stern provides insight into the business side of her music career, while Suesse's letters to her mother, Nina Quarrier, document her personal and professional life in New York City as well as her trip abroad to study with Nadia Boulanger.
Biographical Materials include awards, memberships, report cards, some legal documents, travel papers, personal and religious documents, and information about family history. The juvenilia show that from an early age, Suesse was creative in other artistic mediums beside music. She wrote poetry, created paintings and drawings, and designed costumes and dresses. Material compiled by the donor, Peter Mintun, includes correspondence with others regarding Suesse, research materials compiled about her, as well as details regarding a special dinner party he planned in her honor.
The Photographs, most of which date between 1911 and 1974, depict Suesse alone and with others in both candid and professional settings, including her concert at Carnegie Hall in 1974. It also includes a significant amount of childhood and family photographs, several sketches of Suesse, and a tintype of her grandfather, Dana Ward Quarrier, from 1860.
Programs and Promotional Material are present for concerts in which Suesse performed as well as concerts where her compositions were performed by others. Playbills, flyers, and other advertisements can also be found in this series.
Clippings contain biographical features, concert announcements, and reviews spanning the full length of Suesse's career, from early childhood recitals to the 1990s.
The Datebooks span from 1945 to 1987 and provide a fascinating picture of Suesse's daily life, recording both social and professional engagements. In 1957, she was baptized in the Catholic Church; the liturgical datebooks only record her religious activities.