Scope and Content Note
The American Conservatory at Fontainebleau Records span from 1922 to 2024, the bulk of which date from 1947 to 1980. The Student Applications series contains applications that students submitted for the music and fine arts schools primarily between 1947 and 1980. There are also applications present for cancellations. While many applications include students’ photographs, résumés, petition and reference letters, college and university transcripts, G. I. Bill certificates, tuition and scholarship information, travel arrangements, and correspondence with the admission officer, not all of these materials may be present for each application. Notable names such as Louise Talma, Nadia Boulanger, Robert Casadesus, Germaine Tailleferre, Paul Hindemith, and Darius Milhaud appear in the recommendation letters. Notable music students with applications found in the series include Donald Grantham, Philip Glass, Charles Fox, Adolphus Hailstork, Andreas Makris, Joe Raposo, and Louise Talma. Geraldine Ostrove, longtime employee of the Music Division at the Library of Congress, was also a student. The applications offer perspective on the international and artistic community fashioned at Fontainebleau through student demographics over the years and the personal relationships some of the students established with the institution. The applications for music students in 1966 are not present.
The Alumni Association Records contain materials created by the Conservatory's alumni association, including issues of the Alumni Bulletin publication, lists of alumni, announcements of upcoming events, governance and financial documents, correspondence, programs for concerts and events, and three scrapbooks.
The Publicity Materials primarily consist of brochures that may have been distributed to colleges and universities to encourage students to apply for study at Fontainebleau. There are also clippings and articles about the Conservatory, its faculty, and its students; examples of advertisements for other summer study courses in the arts; and a publication regarding the Conservatory's history and centennial.
Correspondence, artwork, lecture notes, lists of faculty and students, minutes, photographs, and programs primarily comprise the Other Records series. There are also publications about art and France, repertoire lists, a syllabus, and a tribute to Camille Decreus.