Abstract The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) was founded by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey (1931-1989). Ailey used Lester Horton and Martha Graham technique and added movement expressive of African American culture and social dance to elevate African American experiences through his work. AAADT became one of the most prolific and celebrated American dance companies. The collection contains documentation of the creation and performance of dances for the AAADT, correspondence and...

Abstract Laurindo Almeida was a Brazilian-American guitarist and composer. Often credited for contributions to the development of jazz samba, Almeida was a prolific composer and arranger of music for both classical Spanish guitar and popular guitar. He was an acclaimed recording artist and became the first person to win Grammy Awards for both classical and jazz performances. The collection contains manuscript and printed music, correspondence, publicity materials, photographs, and other items related...

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The Photographs from the Robert S. Altshuler Collection contains images of performers from the big band era of jazz music, including Glenn Miller, the Andrews Sisters, Frank Sinatra, Harry James, Jimmie Lunceford, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday; together with their band members, featured singers, and fans.

Abstract The Original Amateur Hour was a popular radio talent show hosted by Edward Bowes (stagename, Major Bowes) from 1935-1952. The collection primarily consists of more than 7,000 applications from contestants who appeared on the program between 1934 and 1948. A small amount of administrative papers dating from the late 1940s and 1950s, as well as materials relating to the Mexican version of the program, La hora internacional del...

Abstract American Ballet Theatre (ABT), established in 1940 as Ballet Theatre, is recognized as one of the world's largest and most distinguished dance companies. By act of Congress on April 27, 2006, ABT became America's National Ballet Company. The archive includes music scores, choreographic notes and Benesh dance notation scores, correspondence, business papers, scrapbooks, programs, clippings, photographs, posters, video recordings and films, and prints and drawings, including set and costume...

Abstract The American Conservatory at Fontainebleau was originally established in 1919 to improve the quality of United States military bands mobilized in France at the end of World War I. In 1921, the school opened to American civilians, welcoming music students for summer classes in the Louis XV wing of the Château de Fontainebleau. The School of Fine Arts was established in 1923, and architecture has become the focus of its instruction. Still active today, the Conservatory's faculty has featured...

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The Edgar D. Andrews collection contains correspondence, clippings, civilian papers, creative works, regimental histories, and photographs. The bulk of the collection consists of letters the veteran wrote to his mother, Sarah, his sister, Sue, and his father, George, while serving in France during World War I with the American Expeditionary Forces.

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Field recordings of folk music from Ohio and neighboring regions, plus related manuscripts and photographs collected by Anne Laylin Grimes.

Abstract George Antheil was a composer, pianist, author and inventor. The collection consists of materials related to the professional and personal activities of George Antheil and his wife, Elizabeth (Böske) Antheil. It contains holograph music manuscripts, printed scores, published and unpublished writings, business and personal correspondence, subject files, photographs, programs and promotional materials, scrapbooks, artwork, biographical materials, and memorabilia which document the life of this...

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Lucille "Sweets" Preston (1921-2020), a dancer at the Cotton Club and member of the vaudeville comedic duo Slim & Sweets, was an intimate partner of jazz legend Louis Armstrong beginning in the early 1950s. This collection consists of correspondence, photographs, and other materials formerly owned by their daughter Sharon Preston-Folta. The items document both the relationsip between "Satchmo" and Lucille Preston as well as Preston's colleagues in the entertainment industry.

Abstract The Arnold Volpe Papers contain letters, photographs, music, scrapbooks, posters, and other materials reflecting Volpe's career, from his student days in Russia to his accomplishments as a conductor, composer, violinist, and mentor in the United States. He was founder and director of the Young Men's Symphony Orchestra of New York (1902-1919) and the Volpe Symphony Orchestra of New York City (1904-1914). He is also credited with founding and conducting the initial Lewisohn Stadium Concerts...

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The Robert Frank Augur Collection includes biographical information, civilian papers, clippings, correspondence, a diary, military papers, printed matter, a scrapbook, photographs, and artifacts relating to Augur's service in the United States Army during World War II.

Abstract Luiz Heitor Corrêa de Azevedo (1905-1992) was a Brazilian musicologist, folklorist, educator, and music critic. His papers document his life and career through correspondence, writings, teaching materials, notebooks, research and subject files, photographs, and awards. Correspondence, as well as holograph, facsimile, and inscribed scores, illustrate Azevedo's relationships with twentieth-century composers from South America, North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. His own...

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Ernst Bacon was an American composer, pianist, and conductor. Largely a self-taught composer, Bacon also became an esteemed administrator and educator, serving as director of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Music Project in 1935 and later as composer-in-residence at Syracuse University from 1947-1963. The collection contains music, writings, correspondence, iconography, programs, clippings, publicity materials, and other miscellaneous items.

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Collection includes clippings, correspondence, a memoir, transcription of memoir, military papers, photographs, and a video recording of two speeches given to the Southern Cayuga Central School in 1987, documenting Bailey's service during World War I.

Abstract Pearl Bailey was an American singer and actress who established herself as a prominent nightclub entertainer on the East Coast during the mid-twentieth century. She also appeared in several Broadway productions, including House of Flowers and Hello, Dolly! Bailey also starred as Maria in the 1959 filmed production of Porgy and Bess. She later hosted her own televised variety series, the ...

Abstract Chet Baker was an American jazz trumpeter whose early success in the 1950s was due not only to his musical talents, but also to his model good looks. He rose to prominence as a member of baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan's quartet and later established himself as acclaimed vocalist during the 1950s. Baker began an on-again, off-again relationship with Diane Vavra in 1970 and was with her during the last years of his life. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, and other items...

Abstract Samuel Barber remains one of America’s eminent composers, best known for the "Adagio" from his String Quartet, op. 11 in B minor. He composed large and small-scale works for piano, voice and piano, chorus, and orchestra, as well as three operas. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Barber's compositional style remained decidedly tonal. The collection is comprised of correspondence, music from Barber's personal library, printed music, writings,...

Abstract The Barry Sisters (Merna and Claire Barry) was a popular American Jewish vocal group whose careers as Yiddish jazz singers spanned from the late 1930s through the early 1970s. They made their first recordings on Victor Records, and they performed on the radio and television, at New York's Catskill resort hotels, and toured in the United States and abroad. The collection chiefly documents their musical careers through musical scores, parts, and lead sheets, as well as other related...

Abstract Ethel Bartlett and Rae Robertson comprised the piano duo Bartlett and Robertson, who were active in the first half of the twentieth century. They met as students at the Royal Academy of Music and married in 1921, forming their piano duo shortly thereafter. The collection includes primarily manuscript music, both newly composed works for piano duet and two-piano transcriptions and arrangements, as well as compositions written by Bartlett and Robertson. Of note are holograph scores of...

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Béla Bartók was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. The Etelka Freund Collection on Béla Bartók consists chiefly of correspondence between the composer and pianist Etelka Freund (1879-1977), and printed music for his early works, some of which are annotated. Additional materials include photographs, clippings, programs, publicity materials, and journal articles that document Bartók’s professional activities.

Abstract Irwin "Bud" Bazelon (1922-1995) was an American composer of both concert and film music, as well as a conductor and author. His compositional output includes symphonies, chamber music, music for documentaries and television commercials, and other works. His Knowing the Score: Notes on Film Music, first published in 1975, was one of the early scholarly texts on film music. The collection consists of Bazelon's music, writings (especially pertaining to...

Abstract Collection of field documentation, including photographs and field recordings made by Brenda E. F. Beck during her research in the Kongu area of Tamil Nadu, India from 1964-1966. Includes audio recordings of long epic stories and shorter tales, local legends, myths, proverbs, riddles, and songs, including chants, lullabies, devotional songs, wedding songs, and funeral songs. The collection is rich in documentation of oral narrative, especially tied to temple rituals and rites of passage....

Abstract This collection comprises research materials created and compiled by Peggy V. Beck for the exhibition Oremos, Oremos: New Mexican Midwinter Masquerades, at the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico in 1987, as well as documentation of other New Mexican midwinter rituals. Included are sound recordings of interviews, rehearsals, and performances; field notes, photographs, drawings, and videocassettes; plus exhibition catalogs and exhibit scripts. The...

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Milton Berle (1908-2002) was an American vaudevillian, comic, actor, lyricist, producer, and author. Nicknamed "Mr. Television," Berle transitioned from a successful career in radio to become host of NBC's Texaco Star Theatre. The collection contains comedic writings, scripts, correspondence, business papers, photographs, music, and other materials that document his life and career in entertainment.