Conservatory of Music Records, 1841-present | Oberlin College Archives

The records of the Conservatory of Music span the years 1841 to the present, the earliest records consisting of printed catalogs and concert programs.  Few records of evidential value have survived to illuminate the period from 1867, when the Conservatory became a division of the College, to 1928, the date of the earliest surviving correspondence of a Conservatory Director (Frank Holcomb Shaw).  The bulk of the collection, concentrated in the period 1930 to 1990, unevenly documents the administrative and educational activities of the Conservatory faculty and students.  Surprisingly absent from the files--of one of the College's main divisions--are such basic administrative records as file copies of annual reports* of the directors and deans to the President of the college, executive correspondence, annotated Board of Trustees documents, and course materials for the ten instructional divisions.  Sound recordings, consisting of some 4,040 tapes (10.5" x .25") of live performances, are currently stored in the basement of Warner Concert Hall.  They are maintained by the Conservatory's Audio Services department.

Administrative files for Conservatory directors prior to Frank Holcomb Shaw (1924-49) include the minutes (1908-92) of Conservatory Faculty Council meetings; minutes (1914-92) of Conservatory faculty meetings; and five financial ledgers (1876-1933).  Minutes of the Conservatory Faculty Council mainly report on personnel actions such as appointments, reappointments, tenure decisions, and terminations.  There are few reports to the Board of Trustees and little record of Board of Trustees meetings at which issues of importance to the Conservatory were raised.

Administrative correspondence exists for Conservatory Directors Frank Holcomb Shaw, David Ritchie Robertson (1911-61), James Stanley Ballinger (b. 1925); Deans Norman Lloyd (1909-80), Robert Fountain (b. 1917), Emil Danenberg (1917-82), and David Boe (b. 1936); and Assistant Directors John Cecil Kennedy (b. 1904) and Paul Oscar Steg (b. 1919).  The bulk of this correspondence (1928-58) is located in Series III, Correspondence, Subseries 1.  These files, arranged alphabetically by name and subject, were segregated in 1992 from a larger group of correspondence containing inactive faculty files and correspondence with students.  This administrative or "general" correspondence consists primarily of brittle file copies of letters and memoranda concerning colleagues at other institutions, professional meetings, guest performers and lecturers, gifts and donations, and instrument and equipment manufacturers.  Files also contain an abundance of requests for faculty evaluations of submitted compositions, referrals to local music teachers, and offers to sell musical instruments, music libraries, and sound archives to the Conservatory.  Correspondence of David Ritchie Robertson is also housed in Series IX, Subseries 4, Salzburg Program Files, together with correspondence of Assistant Director Paul Oscar Steg.  Administrative correspondence of Director Ballinger and Deans Lloyd, Fountain, Danenberg and Boe, consisting primarily of file copies of interoffice memoranda, is housed in Series III, Subseries 2, Interoffice Memoranda of the Deans.

This correspondence covers such topics as curriculum changes, admissions and enrollment procedures, class scheduling, faculty committee assignments, student recital schedules, audition procedures, and classroom availability.

Correspondence (1928-90) of the Conservatory Deans, Directors, and Assistant Directors, with students and former students of the Conservatory is housed in Series III, Subseries 3, Student Correspondence.  Although this material is of a purely routine nature, pertaining mainly to students experiencing academic difficulties, seeking letters of reference, or transferring to other institutions, it does illuminate a style of academic administration characteristic of the period prior to the 1960s, when high-level administrators were more personally involved with students.  Notable in letters of reference is the consistent correlation of the academic potential of women students with their appearance.  Psychiatric disorders, "personality defects," speech impairments, blindness, and other human flaws and handicaps are cited as hindrances to the successful musical career.  With the exception of veterans of World War II seeking readmission, most older students are discouraged from resuming study.

The Conservatory's instructional divisions are not as well documented as its special academic programs, such as the American Soviet Youth Orchestra or the short-lived Salzburg Program, which are described below.  Records of the instructional divisions, housed in Series VIII, Subseries 1 through 3, date mainly from the period 1963 to 1984 and therefore do not exactly reflect the ten divisions which now carry out music instruction: the Division of Woodwinds, Brass, and Percussion, Historical Performance, Keyboard Studies, Music Theory, Musicology, Music Education, Strings, Vocal Studies, Conducting and Ensembles, and Contemporary Music.  Administrative files for the departments of brass, electronic music, organ, piano, strings, Technology in Music and Related Arts, voice, and wind are very thin overall.  The bulk of Applied Studies records consists of student requests (1973-91) to change studios.  Outside of Applied Studies, the record is equally sparse; little documentation exists for the divisions of composition, ethnomusicology, or music history.  Disproportionately well documented is the division of Music Education and its consortium program (1975-90) in Music Therapy.  Files include minutes of music education faculty meetings, former student files, state evaluation files, proposals for the Music Therapy specialization and related course syllabi, budget records, minutes, and correspondence.  Individual student files for graduates of the Music Education program between 1974 and 1980 are housed in Series X, Subseries 3.  Minutes of the Conservatory Educational Policy Committee (1958-95), housed in Series VII, Committee Files, chronicle the development of the conservatory curriculum as a whole and its several degree programs.  Proposals for new degree programs are located in Series V, Admissions, Enrollment, and Degree Program Files.

As noted above, a number of special musical programs and initiatives sponsored by the Conservatory of Music are well documented by files housed in Series IX, Special Program Files.  A full record is present of the Salzburg Program, the compulsory third-year of study at the "Mozarteum" in Salzburg (1958-1964), and the more recent American Soviet Youth Orchestra (1987-91) program.  The Salzburg files include records created or received in Oberlin and records created in Austria, maintained by the Director of the program.  Records consist of the administrative correspondence of Mozarteum Director Eberhard Preussner(1899-1964) and various officials at the U.S. Consulate in Salzburg; correspondence of the Oberlin Directors and Assistant Directors Robert Deahl (b. 1928), Emmy K. Miller (b. 1904), and Paul Steg (b. 1919); travel and orientation information; student evaluations of the program, and photographs, which are housed in Series XVII.  Some material is in German.

Files of the American Soviet Youth Orchestra (1987-91, n.d.) document every aspect of the venture:  hiring the Oberlin office personnel and outside marketing consultants; recruiting national council members, identifying potential donors, and fund-raising; negotiating with the Soviets; auditioning student performers; making travel arrangements for both orchestra members and their cargo; settling on repertoire, establishing concert venues, and contracting guest artists; and recording income and expenditures.  Some material is in Russian.  Other programs documented in this series include the Baroque Performance Institute (1972-85, 1989), the Contemporary Music Ensemble (1950-70), the Oberlin Summer Youth Orchestra (1987-88), the Oberlin Black Ensemble (1973-75), and the Teachers Performance Institute (1966-69, 1973).

Several special programs are documented by minutes of standing and ad hoc committees, housed in Series VII, Committee Files.  Especially well documented is the Artist Recitals Series Committee.  Files (1912-84) include minutes, correspondence, contracts with performers, and publicity.  An alphabetical index (1896-1988) to performers, which includes the month, day, and year of the artist's Oberlin recital, is housed in Series XIV, Conservatory Publications and Concert Programs.  Other committees formed to coordinate musical events include the ad hoc committee on the Bach Commemoration (1985), the Centennial Program committee (1965-66), the Contemporary Music Festival Committee (1966-68), and the New Directions committee (1970-79).

Files pertaining to the construction of the present Conservatory buildings and the purchase, installation, and maintenance of the instruments they house are located in Series XI, Buildings, Grounds, and Musical Equipment Files.  Included is correspondence with architectural firms Bolt Baranek and Newman (Cambridge, MA), Christopher Jaffe (Norwalk, CT), Dober and Associates (Belmont, MA), Douglass Orr (New Haven, CT), and Minoru Yamasaki & Associates (Birmingham, MI).  In addition, there are architectural drawings of buildings and organs.  Included are the floor plans for the Robertson Practice Building (1960), the Central Unit (1963), the Teaching Unit (1963), and the Conservatory Library (1958, 1981-82) by Minoru Yamasaki and Associates.  There are drawings of the Brombaugh organ in Fairchild Chapel (1980), the 44-stop Flentrop organ for Warner Concert Hall (1961, 1968, 1970-71), the earlier Holtkamp organ (1949), and several Moller practice organs (1958, 1961).  Files also contain correspondence relating to the purchase, transport, installation, and dedication of the Conservatory organs; and contracts with organ builders such as Casavant Freres Ltd., Flentrop, and Brombaugh.

Inactive faculty files (1935-95), housed in Series VI, Personnel Records, document the hiring, promotion, and terminations of former Conservatory faculty.  Files often include curriculum vitae and letters of reference, as well as publicity for  concerts, performances, or publications.  The 1971 search for the dean, which culminated in the selection of Emil C. Danenberg (1917-82), is documented in correspondence and candidate files.  Also present are the voluminous legal records pertaining to the litigation between Oberlin College and voice Professor Doris Mayes (b. 1933).

Records of individual students (1956-83), housed in Series X, Student Files, are comprised of three subseries, each representing a separate accession.  Files contain transcripts, correspondence, results of performance auditions, student recital programs, and student recital evaluations.  Student applications to the Conservatory for the years 1905-56 are housed in Record Group 25, Office of Admissions.  Statistics on admissions and enrollment (1957-82) are housed in Series V.

Photographs, housed in Series XV, include a series taken of Salzburg program participants and the city of Salzburg.  Photographs also depict various ensembles and classes at the Conservatory, as well as visiting musicians, vocalists, conductors, chamber music groups, and orchestras.  Individuals represented include Herbert von Karajan, George Szell, Aaron Copland, Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniel Barenboim, Victoria De Los Angeles, Shirley Verret, Janet Baker, Marilyn Horne, Gerard Souzay, Carlos Salzedo, Emil Gilels, Andre Watts, and Radu Lupu.  The Department of Special Collections in the Oberlin College Library holds three named collections of autographed artists' photographs.  An in-house catalog (1987) of the Best, Shaw, Morrison, and other collections supplies an alphabetical listing of the artists and the date of the photograph or letter.

The remainder of the collection includes files relating to grants, funds, and fellowships available to Conservatory faculty and students; files relating to national music organizations; and institutional honors and awards received by the Conservatory since 1930.  Series XVI, Recordings, contains two promotional recordings, including one LP featuring Robert Hill on the Bentside Spinet (1979), one reel [1972] of Andre Watts at the piano, and a cassette tape (1984) of a conversation between David Boe and Gunther Schuller regarding long range planning for the Conservatory.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Series I.  Minutes of the Governing Bodies, 1875-91 (2.4 l.f.)

Organized into three subseries by governing body:  Subseries 1. Conservatory Faculty Council, Minutes of; Subseries 2. Conservatory Faculty, Minutes of; and Subseries 3. Conservatory Board, Minutes of.

            Subseries 1.  Conservatory Faculty Council, Minutes of, 1908-09, 1911-13, 1915-43, May 1946, 1949-85, 1987-92

            Minutes of council meetings are filed with attached and related materials and chronologically arranged.  The council includes seven faculty members and two ex officio members, the President and Provost of Oberlin College.

          Subseries 2.  Conservatory Faculty, Minutes of, 1875-93, 1898-1909, 1914-92

            Minutes are filed with attached and related materials; they are chronologically arranged.  Some minutes (1978-80 and 1988-1991) are missing.

            Subseries 3.  Conservatory Board, Minutes of, 1969-90

            Incomplete set of minutes (with attachments) of meetings of the Conservatory Board.  The Board is an organization open to any Conservatory student or College of Arts and Sciences music major.  There are four elected officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.  Minutes of the Board are arranged chronologically.

            Subseries 4.  Senior Staff, 1988-91

            Reports and institutional publications, collected by Senior Staff, concerning campus programs, departmental financial and academic issues, and college staff.

Series II.  Board of Trustees Records, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1976, 1981, 1983-85  (0.2 l.f.)

Miscellaneous materials relating to Board of Trustees meetings, including several reports presented by Conservatory deans to the Board.

Series III.  Correspondence, 1928-99, n.d.  (18.5 l.f.)

Administrative correspondence of the Directors, Assistant Directors, and Deans of the Conservatory, arranged into two subseries:  Subseries 1. General Correspondence, Subseries 2. Inter-office Memoranda of the Deans, Subseries 3. Student Correspondence.  Also included is a letter press copy book, 1890s-1901, stored with Scrapbooks, Series XVII (2004/012).

             Subseries 1.  General Correspondence, 1928-99

            Consists of routine, administrative correspondence pertaining to personnel matters, fund-raising, artist recitals, building and equipment needs, and professional activities.  This correspondence was separated from a larger alphabetical run of correspondence by the Project Archivist in 1992.  Files contain extremely brittle file copies of outgoing letters with attached incoming originals.  Correspondence is alphabetically arranged by name or subject.  Additional correspondence, 1988-1999, of Conservatory Dean Karen Wolff was received as a late accretion and is located at the end. These files concern primarily arrangements for visiting artists and also include some general correspondence and material on the College's 1993 legal audit.

            Subseries 2.  Interoffice Memoranda of the Deans, 1953-92, n.d.

            Includes an incomplete run of incoming and outgoing inter-office correspondence and memoranda chronologically arranged.  Memoranda date mainly from the deanship of David Boe (1975-91).  Included also are annual reports of the conservatory dean to the college president (1962-1965, 1967-1972, 1975-1987).

            Subseries 3.  Student Correspondence, 1928-91

            Includes correspondence which was segregated from the general correspondence files by the Project Archivist in 1992.  Files contain incoming correspondence with the Director's and Assistant Director's  file copies attached.  Outgoing correspondence includes letters of reference and letters pertaining to students' academic progress.  There are numerous letters of inquiry from students and parents.  Correspondence is alphabetically arranged by student name.

Series IV.  Budgetary and Development Records, 1876-1949, 1960-83, 1986-87, 1990-91  (3.2 l.f.)

Ledgers, cash books, cash journals, and loose papers relating to the yearly development of the budget (1960-80) and to the receipt and acknowledgment of financial gifts, especially those designated for the David Ritchie Robinson Memorial Fund, established in 1962.  The earliest records are fragmentary in nature; these precede development records.  Thereunder, files are chronologically arranged.

Series V.  Admissions, Enrollment, and Degree Program Files, 1957-92, 1999  (1.4 l.f.)

Includes student enrollment and admissions statistics, data on teaching loads and schedules, reports on admissions and recruitment procedures, and files relating to degree programs offered by the Conservatory.  Arranged into three subseries: Subseries 1.  Admissions Files; 2. Enrollment and Scheduling Files; and 3. Degree Program Files.  Within subseries, records are arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material and thereunder chronologically.

            Subseries 1.  Admissions Files, 1957-85, n.d.

            Includes admission logs and reports for Oberlin and also for other peer liberal arts colleges.

            Subseries 2.  Enrollment and Scheduling Files, 1960-92

            This subseries contains information regarding semester enrollment numbers, faculty assignments, teaching loads, and class schedules.

            Subseries 3.  Degree Program Files, 1958, 1965-92, n.d.

            Includes various documents concerning different degree programs offered through the Conservatory, such as Double Degree program, BM/MM Conducting, Master of Music in Teaching, Church music program, and other programs.

Series VI.  Personnel Records, 1928-95, n.d.  (25.9 l.f.) *

Faculty and staff personnel records, arranged into five subseries  *Access to this series is restricted.

            Subseries 1.  Appointment, Salary, and Grievance Files, 1949-95, n.d.

            Includes salary statistics and reports, grievance procedures, and legal documents associated with litigation involving Oberlin College and Conservatory faculty, and search files for various positions.  Access by permission of the Archivist.

            Subseries 2.  Inactive Faculty and Staff Files, 1935-92

            Files contain routine administrative correspondence pertaining to salary and terms of appointment or termination and are arranged alphabetically by name.  Accessions 1990/10 and 1992/20 are interfiled.  Accessions 1998/77 and 1999/17 are listed separately (boxes 37-40).  Access by permission of the Archivist.

            Subseries 3.  Recruitment Files, 1974-87, n.d.

            Includes recruitment strategies and recruitment and appointment activity records for Oberlin College personnel in the various departments of the Conservatory.

            Subseries 4.  Topical Files, 1965-90

            Miscellaneous files including:  Agreement, Copyright Law, 1977-84, Reorganization, Division Directors, Early Retirement, Health Benefits, Sabbatical Applications, Sexual Harassment, and Staff Reports.

            Subseries 5. Public Relations Files, 1990s-2000 

            Files containing articles, releases, correspondence, and photographs relating to formal faculty and staff of the Conservatory of Music.

            See also the inventory for accession 2004/064

Series VII.  Committee Files, 1912-99  (6.4 l.f.)

Organized into seven subseries:  Subseries 1. Artist Recitals Series Committee Files; Subseries 2. Conservatory Educational Policy Committee Files (includes Evaluation Committee minutes, 1955-56 [2000/103]); Subseries 3. Miscellaneous Committee Files; Subseries 4. College-wide Committee Files; Subseries 5. Visiting Committee; Subseries 6. Admission Committee; and Subseries 7. Strategic Issues Steering Committee.  Within subseries, files are arranged chronologically or alphabetically by committee name.  For additional records relating to college-wide committees and the Strategic Issues Steering Committee, consult Record Group 33, Committees.

            Subseries 1.  Artist Recitals Series Committee Files, 1912-93

            Includes minutes of committee meetings and correspondence with guest artists and their representatives regarding scheduling, repertoire, and local arrangements; contracts with visiting artists; and publicity brochures.  The annual recital series features solo performers as well as ensembles and now includes two Cleveland Orchestra concerts.  See Series XV for photographs of performers and Series III, Subseries 1, General Correspondence.

            Subseries 2.  Conservatory Educational Policy Committee Files, 1958-95

            Minutes and memoranda are chronologically arranged.

            Subseries 3.  Miscellaneous Committees, 1927-99, n.d.

            Records of various Conservatory committees are arranged alphabetically by committee name.

            Subseries 4.  College-wide Committee Files, 1965-91

            Records of various college-wide committees in which members of the Conservatory faculty were involved.  Arranged alphabetically by committee name.

            Subseries 5.  Visiting Committee, 1987-89

            Miscellaneous documents regarding the Visiting Committee, including committee itineraries, biographical sketches and minutes of meetings.

            Subseries 6.  Admission Committee, 1953, 1963-76, 1981-1989

            Miscellaneous reports, minutes, and demographics concerning Conservatory admission and other institutes admissions.

            Subseries 7. Strategic Issues Steering Committee, 1991-95

            Correspondence, Minutes, and Reports of the Strategic Issues Steering Committee and the Conservatory Study Group.

Series VIII.  Instructional Divisions and Special Services Files, 1950-97, 2007 (9.8 l.f.)

Records of Conservatory instructional divisions and of the Audio Services Department and Conservatory Library.  Arranged into the following subseries:  Subseries 1. Records of Applied Studies Departments; Subseries 2.  Other Instructional Departments; Subseries 3. Music Education Department Files; and Subseries 4. Records of the Conservatory Audio Services and Library.

            Subseries 1.  Records of Applied Studies Departments, 1960, 1963-97, 2007, n.d.

            Includes miscellaneous administrative files of nine applied studies departments and studio change request forms completed by students (1973-78).  Arranged alphabetically by type of material.

            Subseries 2.  Other Instructional Divisions, 1955-90

            Includes the records of instructional divisions other than Applied Studies or Music Education.  Files are arranged alphabetically by division and thereunder chronologically or alphabetically by topic or type of material.

            Subseries 3.  Music Education Department Files, 1950-93

            Includes State of Ohio certification records, minutes and memoranda, and files relating to the Music Therapy Consortium program.  For files of graduates of the Music Education program, consult Series X, Student Files.

            Subseries 4.  Records of the Conservatory Audio Services and Library, 1958-90

            Includes annual reports, correspondence, and memoranda relating to the operation of the Audio Services division and the Conservatory Library.  Records are arranged alphabetically by division and thereunder chronologically or alphabetically by topic or type of material.  For additional records relating to the Conservatory Library, consult Record Group 16, Subgroup II.

Series IX.  Special Program Files, 1937-96  (17.2 l.f.)

Records of special musical and academic programs sponsored by the Conservatory, arranged into five subseries by program:  Subseries 1.  American Soviet Youth Orchestra Files; Subseries 2. Baroque Performance Institute Files; Subseries 3. Contemporary Music Festival Files of Walter Aschaffenberg (see also RG 18 Communications Office); Subseries 4. Salzburg Program Files; and Subseries 5. Various Special Programs, Performances, and Ensembles.

            Subseries 1.  American Soviet Youth Orchestra Files, 1986-93, n.d.

            Includes correspondence, memoranda, facsimile documents and telex communications, fund-raising and budgetary records, income and expense reports, personnel records, staff reports, audition files, music scores, concert programs, and publicity.  Some material is in Russian.  Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.

            Subseries 2.  Baroque Performance Institute Files, 1972-85, 1989

            Includes correspondence, memoranda, and publicity, which are arranged chronologically.

          Subseries 3.  Contemporary Music Festival Files of Walter Aschaffenberg, 1950-70

            Correspondence with festival organizers and participants, minutes, and publicity brochures, which were maintained by Professor of Composition and Music Theory Walter Aschaffenberg.  Correspondents include composers Roger Sessions, Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copland, Elliott C. Carter, and Lukas Foss.  Files are arranged alphabetically by type of material and thereunder chronologically.

            Subseries 4.  Salzburg Program Files, 1957-64

            Correspondence and general files documenting the compulsory third year program in Salzburg, Austria.  Correspondence precedes General Files and includes letters arranged alphabetically and chronologically.  General Files are alphabetically arranged.  Files include extensive administrative correspondence of Mozarteum President Eberhard Preussner and his Oberlin colleagues, Robert Deahl, Paul Steg, and Emmy K. Miller; orientation and travel information for students; publicity; faculty and student evaluations of the program (with some material in German);a scrapbook; and a set of lithographic prints of the city of Salzburg (1959).  For photographs, see Series XV.

            Subseries 5.  Various Special Programs, Performances, and Ensembles, 1937-96

            Miscellaneous files documenting a range of musical programs, arranged alphabetically by program name.  See also series XIV for miscellaneous programs.

Series X.  Student Files, 1956-83  (47.85 l.f.) Restricted -- Access by permission of the office of origin or of the College Archivist.*

Individual student files, arranged into three subseries by accession: Subseries 1. Student Files, 1956-74 (Accession 1983/25); Subseries 2. Student Files, 1970-83 (Received 1989); and Subseries 3. Music Education Student Files, 1974-80 (Accession 1991/27).

            Subseries 1.  Student Files, 1956-74 [1983/25] *

            Files include faculty evaluations of junior and senior recitals and may also include transcripts of record.  Arranged alphabetically by student name.

            Subseries 2.  Student Files, 1970-83  [1989/102] *

            Files include faculty evaluations of student recitals and routine transactional documents.  There is some overlap between these files and those of Subseries 1 and 3.  Arranged alphabetically by student name.

            Subseries 3.  Music Education Student Files, 1974-80 [1991/27] *

            Includes faculty evaluations and routine transactional documents.  Arranged by graduating year and thereunder alphabetically by student name.  Consult Subseries 2 and 3 above for files of those students who graduated prior to 1974.

Series XI.  Buildings, Grounds, and Musical Equipment Files, 1904, 1928-91, 1997  (7.25 l.f.)

Records are arranged into two subseries:  Subseries 1.  Buildings and Grounds Files; and Subseries 2. Musical Equipment Files.  Within subseries, files are alphabetically arranged by name of architect or type of material.

          Subseries 1.  Buildings and Grounds Files, 1904, 1940-91

            Files pertain to the construction and renovation of Conservatory buildings and musical equipment.  Records include correspondence, memoranda, and consultants' reports on space and acoustics.  Architects' drawings of buildings and organs are housed in Case 2, Drawer 15, and in Box 3 of this series.

            Subseries 2. Musical Equipment Files, 1904, 1928-82, n.d.

            Includes correspondence and attachments relating to the purchase, construction, transport, dedication, use, and maintenance of the Conservatory's organs, harpsichords, stringed instruments, and pianos.  The bulk of the files concerns the Conservatory's organs.  See also Series III, Correspondence, Subseries 1, General Correspondence, for correspondence with various piano and organ companies.

Series XII.  External Organizations' Files, 1925-89  (2.85 l.f.)

Arranged into two subseries:  Subseries 1. Grants, Funds, and Fellowship Files; and Subseries 2. National Music Organizations.  Within subseries, records are arranged alphabetically by organization name.

            Subseries 1.  Grants, Funds, and Fellowship Files, 1925-89

            Includes general information on grants and fellowships available to Conservatory faculty as well as grant files arranged alphabetically by granting institution.  Grantors include the National Endowment for the Arts and the Rockefeller Foundation.

            Subseries 2.  National Music Organizations, 1926-83

            Files of national music organizations with which the Conservatory was affiliated, by virtue of membership or through the activities of its faculty.  Organizations include the American Society of Composers, the Music Educators National Conference, and the Seven Springs Group of Music Schools.  Arranged alphabetically by organization.

Series XIII.  Institutional Awards and Certificates, 1930, 1964-65, 1968-69  (0.8 l.f.)

Certificates of merit received by the Conservatory, arranged chronologically.

Series XIV.  Conservatory Publications/New Releases, 1841-, n.d.  (26.8 l.f.)

Files consist of Conservatory catalogs, annual student recital programs, a comprehensive run of concert programs, and miscellaneous programs and publications, public relations materials, and news releases.  Arranged alphabetically by type of material and thereunder chronologically for Boxes 1-8; Boxes 9-45 are miscellaneous programs/publications (mostly concert programs) and news releases. The miscellaneous programs consist of the recent accretions of concert and recital programs. This series is divided into three subseries: Subseries 1. Publications; and Subseries 2. News Releases/ Clippings; and Subseries 3. Bound Publications.

Series XV.  Photographs and Postcards, ca. 1870-present  (8.20 l.f.)

Arranged into four subseries by accession:  Subseries 1.  Artist and Program Files, 1930's-present; Subseries 2.  Building and Construction Photographs, c. 1950-1967; Subseries 3. Conservatory Library Slides, 1977-82; and Subseries 4. Born-digital Photographs, 2006.

            Subseries 1.  Artist and Program Files, 1930's-present

            Photographs maintained by the Conservatory for its own use, including photographs of conservatory ensembles, classes, buildings, and musical instruments; Salzburg program participants and environs of the city of Salzburg; and artist publicity photographs.  Arranged alphabetically by subject.  Includes several oversize items housed separately.

          Subseries 2.  Building and Construction Photographs, c. 1950-1967

            Photographs created and maintained by the College Photographer.  Photographs depict students practicing, various ensembles, and Conservatory buildings.  Arranged alphabetically by subject.

            Subseries 3. Conservatory Library Slides, 1977-82

            Slides of the interior of the Conservatory Library.

            Subseries 4. Born-digital photographs, 2006

            Digital photographs taken at an event at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, New York City, 2/23/2006 [acc. 2011/093].

Series XVI.  Recordings, [1960], [1972], 1979, 1984  (4 items, 0.2 l.f.)

Includes one promotional LP for performer Robert Hill, one promotional reel for pianist Andre Watts, and a cassette recording of a conversation between Dean David Boe and Gunther Schuller.  The Conservatory maintains its own Audio Archives, which includes approximately 4,000 tapes of student, faculty, and special recitals.

Series XVII.  Scrapbooks, c. 1870s-1890s, 1941-91, n.d.  (3.4 l.f.)

Scrapbooks and loose items documenting fifty years of activity in the Conservatory, including students, faculty and programs.

Series XVIII. Historical File, n.d.  (0.4 l.f.)

Historical sketch of the Double Degree program.

*  Printed versions appear in the Annual Report of the President, which was published by Oberlin College until 1969.