- MLA would invest the funds raised and would administer the grant program.
- The grant program would be national in scope, without any restrictions except for how long the applicant had been involved in the profession (3 years? 5 years?).
- The California Chapters would prepare recommendations for administering the program, including application procedures, nominations (by any Chapter, by individuals, by mentors, etc. ), selection committee, criteria for selection, etc.
- In order to make $400-$500 available each year for a travel grant, we would need to raise a total endowment of $10,000.
- If the California Chapters commit to pursuing the project and succeed in raising $5,000, the national organization will "match" our funds by raising the remaining $5,000. If the national fund drive is successful, the amount collected may continue beyond the figure to increase either the number of grants or the amount of the individual stipends.
- The Northern and Southern California Chapters should vote at their spring meetings whether to pursue the grant project.
April 1994 Number 59
Note: The online and printed editions of this newsletter may differ in content.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Message from the Chapter Chair
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAPTER CHAIR
Busy, exciting, and frightening describe the past few months for MLA/SCC members and for music libraries in Southern California. Reports on several noteworthy events appear in this issue of the Newsletter. I strongly encourage all of you to attend the MLA/SCC spring meeting on May 20 at the Brand Library. The intriguing program addresses varied aspects of multiculturalism and the music library, while the business meeting includes several vital issues that require decisions by the membership. I shall report on a number of important developments at this meeting, and the rest of this column will address one particular issue.
Among the topics discussed at the joint business meeting of the Northern and Southern California Chapters in San Jose last November was a memorial for our colleague Kevin Freeman, who passed away in September. The most favorably received idea was to establish a travel fund to assist library school students or young librarians to attend a national conference of the Music Library Association. Members viewed this as an especially appropriate idea since Kevin, who, sadly, was able to participate in the profession for only six years, exemplified the very type of person we want to encourage into music librarianship. Moreover, in his new position as Head of Technical Services at the Stanford Music Library, Kevin was looking forward to the opportunity to help encourage and nurture new talent.
Both chapters showed strong support for pursuing the establishment of a travel fund. Questions arose about how much money would be needed, how to raise and administer the funds, and whether the managing the award was feasible at the chapter level. I asked if the national organization could help with the fund. We agreed to make a proposal, and Mimi Tashiro, Judy Tsou, and myself were invited to present our proposal to the MLA Development Committee in Kansas City. The Committee responded very favorably to the concept, agreeing to make a presentation to the Board, who, in turn, endorsed the idea with these provisions:
We are not committing to raise the $5,000, but only deciding if we consider the project worthy and are willing to participate in a joint effort to reach this goal. I do not recall a discussion of what would happen if we should fall short of the desired amount, but I suspect we could vote to donate what we raise to one of the other MLA endowment funds.
I believe that this is a worthy undertaking for our chapters. Kevin Freeman was well known and respected by all of his colleagues in California, and he was one of the most active members in joint chapter functions, such as the fiftieth anniversary program. Certainly the travel grant program for new music librarians would offer a significant service to our association, to our junior colleagues, and to the institutions they serve. And finally, this project represents a wonderful opportunity for us to build further upon our rapport with our Northern California counterparts and to come forward with a major contribution to our profession. Once again we can demonstrate the creativity, dedication, and "can-do" attitude for which the music librarians of California are famous!
--Joe Fuchs
MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW FOR MAY 20!
MLA/SCC will hold its spring meeting on Friday, May 20 from 9:30 to 4:00 at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale. A program on Multiculturalism and the Music Library will focus on acquisitions, collection development, cataloging, reference sources (including those available via the Internet), and other issues within the context of the various musical cultures flourishing in the communities and libraries of Southern California. The deadline for registration is May 16-see the registration form included with this issue of the newsletter.
LOCAL ETHNOMUSICOLOGISTS MEET AT UCLA
The Southern California Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology held its annual meeting at UCLA on 25-27 February 1994. An event-filled weekend commenced with a pre-conference dance party on Friday evening featuring the Steve Loza Jazz Sextet and the UCLA Balkan Gypsy Music Ensemble. Elsie Dunin (UCLA Dance Dept.) taught Balkan dancing to an enthusiastic crowd. Saturday featured a busy schedule with concurrent paper presentations and workshops, performances, and discussions. The four paper sessions focused on the topics "Representations of Identity" (moderator: Paul Humphreys, CSUN), "Music in History" (moderator: Tom Owens, El Camino College), "Music in Performance" (moderator: Gertrude Rivers Robinson, Loyola Marymount), and "Appropriation of Musical Traditions" (moderator: Joseph Lam, UCSB). Presenters included Roberto Catalano (UCLA): "Mandolins, Jew's Harps, and Machine Guns: Sicilian Music and Culture in Hollywood Mob Films"; Steven Cesar Azcona (UCSB): "The Many Faces of Santa Barbara's Fiesta: Multilayered History and Identity as Seen through Music"; Katherine J. Hagedorn (Pomona College): "Dreaming Ogœn: Doing Fieldwork in Cuba"; Nancy Van Deusen (Claremont Graduate School): "Medieval Diversity, 'Charivari,' and Connections between European Literary and Popular Cultures"; Robert E. Brown (UCLA): The Desi Talas of India in Historical Context"; Jonathan Hill (UCLA): "Musicalized Speech, History, and Ritual Power in Lowland South America"; Kimasi Browne (UCLA): "Red, White, and Blue-in Black: A Reconceptualization of the Anacreontic Song"; Scott L. Marcus (UCSB): "Sri Lankan Record Bars: One Country's Approach to Music Consumption in the Cassette/CD Era"; Amy Ku'uleialoha Stillman (UCSB): "What Moves a Hawaiian Hula Dancer?"; Dwight Reynolds (UCSB): "From the Delta to Detroit: Studying Maximal Performance Variation in an Arabic Oral Epic Tradition"; Jean Kidula (UCLA): "The Appropriation of Western-Derived Music Styles into Kenyan Traditions: A Case Study of Some Nairobi Christian Musics"; and, Helena Simonett (UCLA): "Cowbell Sound in Swiss Folk Music: From Naturalness to Ideology."
The variety of workshops, performances, and discussions featured the panel/lecture discussions "New Media/New Realities I"-moderated by Sue Carole DeVale and focused around the presentation "The Internet as a Research Tool" by Wanda Bryant and Maureen Russell (UCLA); and "New Media/New Realities II-with Gilbert L. Blount and Charlotte Crockett (USC) presenting "The Cultural Traditions of Planet Earth: Interactive Courseware Focusing on the Traditional Music of Indonesia"; the workshop "Afro-Colombian Percussion and Singing," led by Alissa Simon (UCLA); "Alberto Ginastera's Sonata for Cello and Piano: Sonic Fusion of His Native Culture," a performance with discussion featuring Janice Foy (cello) and Zita Carno (piano); a performance/workshop on Balinese music and dance led by I Nyoman Wenten (UCLA); and an all-comers jam session with the UCLA Near East Ensemble directed by David Markowitz and Paulette Gershen.
Saturday evening celebrated forty years of gamelan at UCLA and in America with informal performances by four gamelan groups from Southern California-UCLA, San Diego State University, California Institute for the Arts, and UCSB. Sunday morning was devoted to the symposium "Challenges to Ethnomusicology from Inside and Out." The featured speaker was Bonnie Wade (UC Berkeley) with a paper entitled "Back to the Future: An Ethnomusicologist's Perspective." Moderating the session was James Porter (UCLA), with panelists Martha Ellen Davis (UCSD), Roger Kendall (UCLA), Steve Loza (UCLA), and Roger Savage (UCLA).
--Louise Spear, UCLA
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS
Apr. 27: 100th Birthday Celebration for Nicholas Slonimsky, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
May 5-7: The Musical Migration, Europe to America, ca. 1930- 1950: International Conference, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
May. 27: copy due for issue no. 60 to MLA/SCC Newsletter editor.
June 8-11: Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), 28th Annual Conference, New York City.
ADAMSON AND TASHIRO WIN HILL AWARD
MLA/SCC proudly notes that Dannette Cook Adamson (California State Polytechnic University, Pomona) and Mimi Tashiro (Stanford University) have won the 1993 Richard S. Hill Award for their article "Servants, Scholars, and Sleuths: Early Leaders in California Music Librarianship" published in Notes 49/3 (March 1992): 806-835. The Music Library Association presents the Hill Award each year at the Annual Meeting in recognition of the best article on music librarianship or bibliography published during the preceding year (in this instance, 1992).
In recommending the award, the MLA Publications Awards Committee (Pauline S. Bayne, Lenore Coral, and John Roberts) reported: "'Servants, Scholars and Sleuths' is a lively and affectionate group portrait of six remarkable individuals who pioneered in developing music libraries and librarianship in California. The paper fittingly commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the California chapters of the Music Library Association in October 1991. Through their accounts of the vision and pioneering activities of these mentors of the profession- Jessica Fredricks, Gladys Caldwell, George Schneider, Joan Meggett, Edward Colby, and Vincent Duckles-the authors have enlarged our understanding of the development of music librarianship as a profession." The award includes a cash prize of $250.
WELCOME NEW MEMBER!
Stephen Davison
MLS student, UCLA &
Research Associate Arnold Schoenberg Institute
MEMBERS IN PRINT
Graydon Beeks (Music Department Librarian, Pomona College) has published the article:
"The Chandos Anthems of Haym, Handel, and Pepush" in Gottinger Handel-Beitrage, 5 (1993): 161-193.
AMS PACIFIC SOUTHWEST CHAPTER MEETING AT UCLA
Hosted by the Department of Musicology at the University of California, Los Angeles, the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the American Musicological Society held its winter meeting in Schoenberg Hall's Jan Popper Theater on 19 February 1994. A variety of papers stretched the traditional boundaries of musicology and made for a stimulating meeting. The presenters included: Raymond Warner (UCSB): "Lutheran Images in 19th-Century Instrumental Music: A Reading of Carl Loewe's Op. 26 Quatuor Spirituel"; Margaret Murata (UCI): "Quia amore langueo, or Interpreting Affetti sacri e spirituali"; Robert Stevenson (UCLA): "Ethnological Impulses in the Baroque Villancico"; John C. Crawford (UCR): "The Music of Hindemith's Expressionist Period: 'Inner Necessity' or Stylistic Convenience?"; and Jerome S. Kleinsasser (California State University, Bakersfield): "Lawrence Tibbett and the Americanization of the Metropolitan Opera."
SPFM SALUTES FILM MUSIC AND THE WESTERN
On 17-20 March 1994 the Third Annual International Film Music Conference convened at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum. Sponsored and produced by the Society for the Preservation of Film Music (SPFM), the conference focused on the music of the westerns from the era of silent films to such masterpieces as The Magnificent Seven, Silverado, and Lonesome Dove.
The first day of the conference opened with an all-day workshop "Effective Writing about Film and Television Music" that featured presentations by nine prominent film music experts on a variety of topics. In "Clues from The Cue Sheet Editor," Marsha Berman (Santa Monica) offered insights and advise to potential contributors of film music articles. Film composer, song writer, and author Fred Karlin (Santa Barbara) discussed his newly published book Listening to Movies: The Film Lover's Guide to Film Music (New York: Schirmer Books, 1994). In "Film and Television Music: Resources and What to Write About," Stephen Fry (UCLA) outlined a broad scope of potential topics by describing the film music he discovered in a variety of journals through database searches. H. Stephen Wright (Northern Illinois University) offered his thoughts on reviewing soundtrack recordings and described his new Film Music Discussion List on electronic mail. In the paper "Art of Writing Film Music Criticism," Royal S. Brown (Queens College, New York) discussed his work as a film music critic and author. Fox Records producer Nic Redman (Los Angeles) hilariously recounted the foibles of producing substantive notes for his recordings in the presentation "Writing Liner Notes for Film Score Recordings." Jack Smith (San Diego), soundtrack columnist for Films in Review, confessed his unabashed zeal for film music and its composers in his presentation "Getting to the Heart of the Music." In his paper "Notes on Writing a Film Composer's Biography," Steven C. Smith (Los Angeles), noted writer on the music of Bernard Herrmann, offered insights into writing about a composer's career and private life. Concluding the workshop, James Westby (Ph.D. candidate, UCLA) presented "Film and Music: The Dissertation and the University" that outlined the gradual acceptance of modern cultural concerns into the musical curriculum of the university in the context of his nearly completed dissertation on Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's film music.
A reception followed at the Hollywood Bowl Museum, spotlighting the current exhibit on the heritage of film music in Southern California. Later that evening the Composers and Arrangers Foundation of America and the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers jointly produced the fund-raising concert "A Musical Affair to Remember," featuring masters of ceremonies Henry Mancini and Dudley Moore, the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra, and guests Peggy Lee, Nancy Wilson, Herbie Hancock, John Raitt, Louis Bellson, Wayne Shorter, Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, Maurice Jarre, Van Alexander, Larry Blank, Joe Harnell, Ralph Kessler, Irwin Kostal, Tommy Newsom, David Raksin, Pete Rugolo, Vic Schoen, and Gerald Wilson.
Film composer and SPFM president David Raksin formally opened the Friday session, followed by SPFM executive director Jeannie Pool's presentation of several transcription discs of western film soundtracks to the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum in recognition of the important preservation work occurring there. Film music producer and author Tony Thomas offered the opening address "Music for the Westerns," followed by Elmer Bernstein's discussion of the music he wrote for The Magnificent Seven, True Grit, Big Jake, and other westerns.
A variety of speakers filled two simultaneous afternoon sessions: film composer Bruce Broughton compared his scores for Tombstone and Silverado; Susanna Moross Tarjan (Miami, Florida) described the music for The Big Country composed by her father Jerome Moross; Ronald Magliozzi (Film Study Center, Museum of Modern Art, New York City) recounted the methods for merchandising sheet music derived from the silent cinema; Martin Marks (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) described the relationship of the early sound western and its music; Nick Redman discussed Jerry Fielding's score for The Wild Bunch; Gillian B. Anderson (Library of Congress) explicated her project to restore the compiled score for the silent film The Covered Wagon; Warren Sherk (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) outlined Hans Salter's music for western films; and Alfred Cochran (Kansas State University) showed the opening scenes from The Red Pony followed by a discussion of Aaron Copland's music for the film. Two panel discussions also occurred: Jean-Pierre Arquie (Biarritz Film Music Festival, France) and Walter Provo (Flanders International Film Festival) discussed film preservation in European countries; while disc jockeys Peter Kelly (KXLU, Los Angeles), Laurence MacDonald (WFBE, Flint, Michigan), and Robert Emmett McGlynn (WFBE, Palo Alto, California) commented on the burgeoning interest in film music on radio.
Friday evening's 1994 Career Achievement Award Dinner brought together more than 300 film music composers, producers, musicians, librarians, archivists, and enthusiasts to honor Italy's Ennio Morricone. Offering remarks and testimonials were Herschel Burke Gilbert (SPFM event chairman), Tony Thomas, David Raksin, Maurice Jarre, Gabriella Meneghello Battistello (Consul General of Italy), Elmer Bernstein, and John Williams. As a tribute to Morricone, the audience was treated to a documentary that highlighted the brilliance and originality of the composer's scoring of such westerns as A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. Morricone came to the podium amidst a standing ovation.
Continuing the theme of the banquet, Saturday morning's session opened with Royal Brown's paper "Ennio Morricone, an Appreciation." The session "Meet the Composers for TV Westerns" followed, with Fred Steiner (Rawhide, Gunsmoke, and Perry Mason) and Herschel Burke Gilbert (The Rifleman) discussing the techniques used for television westerns. Syndicated television critic Jon Burlingame served as a probing and knowledgeable moderator. The afternoon session commenced with a remarkable presentation by Basil Poledouris, who explained the composition of his music for the television miniseries Lonesome Dove while demonstrating and developing themes from the soundtrack at the piano. In the session "Preserving and Promoting the Legacy: Heirs of Film Composers," Susanna Moross Trajan described her initiation into the film music business after the death of her father. Lance Bowling (Cambria Records, Lomita) spoke about the estate of the late composer Arthur Lange. In stressing the importance of procuring copies of valuable materials from the studios, Bowling recommended that SPFM create a list of motion pictures and their soundtracks that require transfer from nitrate to acetate film. In the presentation "Restoration and Preservation of the Max Steiner Master Recordings," James D'Arc (Brigham Young University), Brad Arrington (Chair, SPFM Preservation Committee), and Christopher Lembesis (recorded sound preservationist, Orange County) relayed SPFM's efforts to recreate and preserve the film and television music on the 16-inch studio transcription discs in the Max Steiner Collection at Brigham Young University and the CBS collection owned by SPFM. Lembesis demonstrated the before-andafter products- the moldy, scarred, and sometimes broken discs versus the crisp, full spectrum sound on digital tape-while lecturing on the process of cleaning and repairing the fragile discs. Composer and film music historian Linda Danly (USC) concluded the afternoon's presentations with "The Music of Hugo Friedhofer," focusing on the scores for the westerns Broken Arrow, Vera Cruz, and One-Eyed Jacks.
On Saturday evening a large and excited audience gathered at the Autry Museum's Wells Fargo Theater for a screening of Paramount's 1923 silent film The Covered Wagon, with music provided by the Los Angeles Musical Heritage Orchestra under the baton of Gillian Anderson. Also shown was Hal Roache's hilarious 1923 parody The Uncovered Wagon, accompanied by pianist Martin Marks.
Sunday morning's business meeting included a demonstration by SPFM's Ray Cole of the facts, news, and information mounted on the Internet file server World Wide Web. Everyone applauded Jeannie Pool's efforts in organizing and producing what proved to be a valuable and stimulating conference.
--Stephen M. Fry, UCLA
MLA/SCC AND USC MUSIC LIBRARY HOST MUSIC LIBRARIANS AT ALA
MLA/SCC and the USC Music Library hosted an evening reception on 5 February 1994 for the music librarians attending the American Library Association Midwinter Conference in Los Angeles. It was a wonderful opportunity for librarians from the still quaking Los Angeles area to meet with colleagues from across the country amidst a convivial atmosphere of fellowship, good food, and perhaps an aftershock or two. About thirty people attended. Thanks to Joe Fuchs, Kathy Glennan, and Rod Rolfs for organizing this memorable event!
A SCATTERING OF EARTHQUAKE REPORTS
The Northridge earthquake on January 17 caused widespread damage and chaos throughout the music libraries and collections located in the Los Angeles areas. Attempts to document the damage to the music collections in particular have met with only limited success, but the following reports nevertheless provide some picture of the sometimes erratic destruction and disruptions of services. The editor encourages members to supply additional reports, corrections, and updates for the next issue.
Brand Library, Glendale
The porch of the Brand Library suffered structural damage, and the library was closed for one week while inspectors examined the cracked arches of the entryway. The Brand Library re-opened with a new, temporary entrance through the gallery until the California State Office of Historical Preservation approves the planned repairs for the exterior of the building, which must restore the building to its 1904 condition. Restoration costs are estimated at $100,000. Inside the library, damage was minimal, with only ten books in the area closest to the front porch falling from the shelves.California State University, NorthridgeWith rough estimates of $300 million to rebuild the CSUN campus, the earthquake marks the costliest disaster to strike a major public higher educational institution in the United States. The earthquake and aftershocks left the Oviatt Library inaccessible and not operational, with the most serious damage sustained by the older central portion of the library. By mid-April workers had managed to enter the central part of Oviatt Library and to retrieve records-keeping materials. The asbestos in the central part of the library has been removed. Once approval is obtained, the staff should be able to page materials from the central portion of the library. The two wings of the library still require major repairs. Currently services are offered in tent structure 666 on the campus, which has proven totally inadequate. Local libraries have come to CSUN's aid: a shuttle service between CSUN and UCLA now brings about 1,300 CSUN students each week to the UCLA campus. CSUN librarians are working at nearby campuses to help defray the influx of reference questions-fifteen are working at UCLA for an average of 152 hours per week. USC offers free borrowing privileges and access to CSUN students.Los Angeles Public LibraryTwenty-two branches of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), including all 16 branches in the San Fernando Valley, had books jarred from the shelves and suffered varying degrees of damage ranging from broken widows and fallen ceilings to cracked walls and toppled stacks. All were temporarily closed after the earthquake. The more seriously damaged branches were closed for three weeks or more, with their staffs reassigned to the Central Library of other branch libraries. The Central Library and the 40 undamaged LAPL branches reopened on Wednesday, January 19.Santa Monica Public LibraryDamage to the main library included: 225,000 books on the floor; collapsed or weakened shelving; cracked or broken windows; fallen lighting fixtures and ceiling tiles; damaged heating and air conditioning; structural damage to plaster walls, stairway, and roof areas; and the toppling and breakage of some equipment. Hard work by the staff enabled the library to reopen on Monday, January 31. Improvements planned or under consideration include new lighting configurations; improved securing of lighting fixtures, diffusers, and suspended ceiling components; installation of additional shelf bracing; improved fastening of equipment and fixtures; replacement and augmentation of emergency supplies; and continued disaster preparation and training for staff. The month of February was declared an amnesty period for overdue materials with earthquake or earlier due dates.UCLA Music LibraryThe Music Library and the recently formed Music Library Special Collections section had 13,000 books and scores, 4,500 LP's, and 1,200 CD's hurled to the floor. Many of the books and scores came off the top shelves, resulting in volumes torn from their cases, pages and signatures torn out, and covers ripped. CD jewel boxes scattered like chaff, but only one CD actually broke. Physical damage included several large cracks in the walls and chunks of plaster and brick strewn on the floor when the mezzanine supports and bracings were yanked from the walls. All of the stack ranges remained upright, but many of the stack braces buckled. About three dozen acoustical ceiling tiles fell to the floor. Large deposits of grit and plaster were omnipresent. The Library was open for minimal service by Thursday and returned to its normal schedule on Monday.USC Doheny LibraryOf related interest: Royce Hall sustained structural damage, particularly to its signature towers, and will be closed indefinitely while the building undergoes seismic upgrading. Nearly all public programming in the Royce Hall Auditorium has been relocated to other campus and local venues.
USC had significant numbers of materials to reshelve, with many scores thrown from the upper shelves. The library building sustained numerous "cosmetic" cracks.
MLA/SCC EXECUTIVE BOARD
Chair: Joe Fuchs, Brand Library
Vice Chair: Leslie Andersen, LACPL, Norwalk
Secretary/Treasurer: Gloria Rogers, CSUSD
Members-At-Large: Louise Spear, UCLA
Blair Whittington, Brand LibraryPast Chair: Kathy Glennan, USC
The MLA/SCC Newsletter is published three times a year. Please send via U.S. or electronic mail articles, reviews, conference summaries, communications, and membership news to the newsletter editor: Darwin Scott, Music Library, 1102 Schoenberg Hall, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1490; phone: (310) 825-2317, (310) 412-5739; E-mail: ecz5dfs@mvs.oac.ucla.edu.
Content and original graphics Copyright © 1993-2004
Music Library Association, Southern California Chapter