Toward Ethical and Inclusive Descriptive Practices in UCLA Library Special Collections
LSC is committed to remediating harmful description by creating and implementing an anti-oppressive approach to discovery and access. We aim to:
- Be clear about what we know, how we know it, and what we don't know
- Embrace baseline description as a tool to improve the discoverability of all our materials
- Demonstrate an understanding that description is a continuous and necessarily iterative endeavor
Read more about our past and current approaches to description in Toward Ethical and Inclusive Descriptive Practices in UCLA Library Special Collections.
Music Resources in UCLA Library Special Collections
The UCLA Library Special Collections holds a large amount of primary source materials pertaining to music. This guide is intended as a starting place to point researchers to these materials and also serves as a basic orientation on using Library Special Collections holdings.
Film and Television Music Collections
Library Special Collections holds a large amount of film music archival materials including materials for silent and sound films. For a more complete listing of these holdings, consult the Online Archive of California, using the keyword search term, "film music."
- Jeff Alexander Television, Radio, and Motion Picture Music Collection, 1943-1970The collection consists of holographs and/or ozalid copies of musical sketches for TV commercials, radio programs; television shows, and various television specials, and holographs or copies of motion picture scores. Also included are additional manuscript scores, framed tributes, awards, letters of recognition, photographs with personalities, drawings, and sound recordings.
- CBS Inc. Film and Television Collection 1955-1991The collection consists of music manuscripts, books, printed music, sound recordings and business papers relating to CBS productions. Also included are logs, music manuscripts, books, and printed music related to four types of CBS productions: features films, television series, television specials, and television movies.
- Herschel Burke Gilbert Collection of Motion Picture and Television Music 1946-1969The collection consists of manuscript scores (holographs or copies) and open reel tapes of music composed by Herschel Gilbert for television series and motion pictures, and includes some related materials such as parts, cues, lyrics sheets, and sketches.
- Miles Goodman Musical Compositions 1974-1996Miles Goodman was a composer for film and television. The collection consists mostly of his spotting notes and manuscripts for productions in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as scores for the arrangers and performers.
- Bernard Herrmann Collection of Music for Film, Television, and Radio Productions, 1935-1969The collection consists of manuscripts, ozalid masters and copies, scores and parts of radio, television, and film music. Includes arrangements used in CBS Crime Classics radio show and music from the following films: Battle of Neretva, Jason and the Argonauts, The Kentuckian, Marnie, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, and The Trouble with Harry. Also includes selections from Herrmann's Opera, Wuthering Heights, and his Nocturne and Scherzo for orchestra.
- Henry Mancini Collection, 1955-1969The collection consists of music manuscripts, music notes, cue sheets and timing sheets for music composed by Mancini for motion pictures.
- Paul A. Marquardt Collection of Music for Silent FilmsThe collection consists of holographs, ozalid masters and copies, and mimeograph copies of scores and parts of music, either composed or arranged by P.A. Marquardt, mostly for silent films. Also included are several marches, an opera and 67 pieces of silent film music (piano part only) published by the Music Buyers Corporation.
- Alex North Collection of Motion Picture Music , 1951-1969This collection consists of holograph scores with occasional holograph music notes.
- Hans J. Salter Collection 1935-1982The collection consists of music, personal papers, correspondence, photographs, production materials, business papers and periodical clippings of one of Universal Pictures' film composers, Hans J. Salter. The various kinds of music are manuscript and published music including conductor's scores, orchestral parts, sheet music, published music books, and sound recordings on 7", 10", and 12" sound discs, 7" and 10" open reel analog tapes, and sound cassettes.
- Louis B. Schnauber (Film Music Society) Collection 1910-1927The collection consists of 2,111 complete sets of orchestral parts for silent films, assembled by Louis B. Schnauber between 1910 and 1927 while he worked as Music Director in more than 25 Omaha theaters.
- Silent Film Music Collection ca. 1900-1930The collection consists of silent film music sheets.
- Warner Brothers Studios Music CollectionA brief initial view of the collection presents 390 boxes of music used for silent film, including printed dance band arrangements (scores and parts), sheet music, and other published and some unpublished music; 137 boxes of sheet music, choral editions, and other published and unpublished music used as a music reference library; 47 boxes of books, mostly about music, frequently stamped with "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Music Library".
- Eugene Zador Collection of music manuscripts , ca. 1955-1965This collection consists of autographed manuscripts of orchestral works.
Emigre Composers
- Emery H. Heim Papers
The collection consists of manuscripts and reproductions of piano-vocal scores of popular songs, a few with obbligato instrumental parts, most with texts in English or Hungarian. Also included are published sheet music of songs, and popular Hungarian dance music arranged for small ensembles, most with parts. - Ernst Toch Papers, ca. 1835-1988
The collection consists of materials relating to the Austrian-American composer, Ernst Toch. Included are music manuscripts and scores, books of his personal library, manuscripts, biographical material, correspondence, articles, essays, speeches, lectures, programs, clippings, photographs, sound recordings, financial records, and memorabilia. Also included are manuscripts and published works of other composers, as well as Lilly Toch's letters and lectures. - Eugene Zador Papers, 1913-1995
The collection consists of autographed manuscripts of orchestral works, operas, songs, and chamber music; reel to reel recordings of performances; full scores and parts not necessarily in the composer's own hand; and numerous items of correspondence to and from the composer.
- Eric Zeisl PapersThe collection consists of music manuscripts, published scores, correspondence, documents, recordings and other materials belonging to the composer, Eric Zeisl.
Women Composers
- Madalyn Akers Phillips Musical Compositions, ca. 1930-ca. 1950The collection consists of art songs, popular songs, choral works and instrumental works by the composer, organist and music teacher.
- Women Composers Collection, ca. 1940-1980Paulena Carter, pianist and composer, was born in San Francisco on May 6, 1930; her career as a pianist started at age seven, and she performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at age thirteen; attended the Philadelphia Conservatory from 1939-41; studied composition with Mary Carr Moore in LA, CA. Ethel Leginska, pianist, composer and conductor, was born Ethel Liggins in Hull, England, on Apr. 13, 1886; studied at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, in Vienna, and in Berlin; was known as the "Paderewski of women pianists"; moved to the US in 1913 and began composing in 1914; studied with Bloch in 1918; retired as a pianist in 1926 to concentrate on composition and conducting; conducted major orchestras in both Europe and the US; founded the Boston Women's Symphony in 1924; moved to Los Angeles in 1940; died on Feb. 26, 1970. Louise Talma was born in Arcachon, France on Oct. 31, 1906; studied at the Institute of Musical Art in New York, with Nadia Boulanger in Fontainebleau, at New York University and Columbia University; taught at Hunter College in NY; received many awards and commissions, including two Guggenheim Fellowships and a Koussevitsky Foundation commission; in 1974 she became the first woman composer elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters.
Music Industry & Organization Collections
- A & M Records Collection of Business Papers, Sound Recordings, Music Manuscripts, and Memorabilia 1959-1992The collection consists of sound recordings, manuscript musical arrangements, photographs, correspondence, promotional materials, posters, gold albums, awards, books and ephemera from just prior to the company's founding in 1962 through its sale to Polygram in 1989 and a few years thereafter, while Moss and Alpert were still affiliated with the label. The collection is in the midst of being procesed. The finding aid will be updated periodically.
- American Composers Forum Los Angeles Records, Bulk 2000-2005The American Composers Forum is a national organization that provides opportunities for composers to create and engage their communities in artistic creation and performance. The organization supports composers at all stages in their careers through grants, commissions, performance programs, and educational workshops. The Forum also works to foster an appreciation for new music while developing the next generation of composers, musicians, and communities. Included in the collection are administrative documents covering Heidi Lesemann’s tenure with ACF-LA, as well as distribution materials and e-mail correspondence between members regarding various outreach projects and music events in the Los Angeles area. Furthermore, a series dedicated to Leonard Stein—musicologist and former director of the Arnold Schoenberg Institute at the University of Southern California— provides a wealth of research materials on pioneering contemporary music composers Arnold Schoenberg and Pierre Boulez.
- CBS Inc. Film and Television Collection 1955-1991The collection consists of music manuscripts, books, printed music, sound recordings and business papers relating to CBS productions. Also included are logs, music manuscripts, books, and printed music related to CBS productions. The collection includes materials in the form of: manuscript scores, parts, and a few Ozalid masters of both scores and parts for film and television productions; printed sheet music and folios of popular music; publishers catalogs, brochures; published books about music; and published silent film music. The collection includes materials by composers such as Jeff Alexander, Bill "Rocky" Conti, Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, Henry Mancini, Lyn Murray, Alex North, Fred Steiner, Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Waxman, and John Williams.
- Monday Evening Concerts of Los Angeles Programs, 1971-
The Monday Evening Concerts, first known as Evenings on the Roof, began in 1939 under the direction of Peter Yates. The concerts featured chamber music and experimental works. The collection consists of programs for the Monday Evening Concerts of Los Angeles presented at the Los Angeles Museum of Art (1971/72-1982/83 seasons). - Dorrance Stalvey Papers, 1944-2005
Dorrance Stalvey was a composer, educator, and director of the Monday Evening Concerts series in Los Angeles from 1971 until his death in 2005. The collection includes extensive correspondence between Stalvey and other composers/presenters, musical materials including scores, audio recordings and electronic media, and Monday Evening Concerts programs, promotional materials and reviews. Stalvey's work as an educator is documented in syllabi and lecture notes. There are also personal documents of Stalvey's, including diplomas, passport, and letters to his parents. - Lawrence Morton Collection of Materials Relating to the Monday Evening Concerts, 1950-1970
Lawrence Morton (1904-1987) played the organ for silent movies and studied in New York before moving to Los Angeles, California, in 1940. He was the executive director of Evenings on the Roof (later renamed Monday Evening Concerts) from 1952-71. The collection consists of concert programs, 6 scrapbooks, and correspondence of composers related to the Monday Evening Concerts of Los Angeles, 1955-67.
Musical Theater
Included here are materials related to all forms of musical stage performances including, but not limited to musical fantasies, revues, comedies, plays, satires, melodramas, sketches, vaudeville productions, burlesque, etc.
Find materials on musicals in the Online Archive of California.
Sound Recording Collections
Here you will find information about specific sound recording collections. These collections consist of sound recordings only. Be aware that many other collections (not listed below) contain sound recordings in addition to other types of music materials.
- Gennett sound recording collection, 1917-1930Gennett is a record company and label. Gennett never had a designated race series: instead, from 1924, it printed the relevant labels with the legend "race record," and was the only company to adopt this policy. The discs were generally issued in batches as part of the general sequence, especially after December 1926, when the catalogue reached 6000; at this point the company started to produce electrically made recordings, the Electrobeams.
- Egger (Jack) jazz sound recording collection, ca.1930-ca.1950.The collection consists of 747 discs of 78 rpm records, all jazz.
- Stewart (William and Elaine) sound recording collection, circa 1930-circa 1960Collection consists of 1,166 78 rpm sound recordings by Ray Anthony, Louis Armstrong, Georgie Auld, Charlie Barnet, Count Basie, Tex Beneke, Bunny Berigan, Conniee Boswell, Johnny Bothwell, Will Bradley, Les Brown, Ray Brown, Dave Brubeck, Bobby Byrne, Frankie Carle, Benny Carter, Marian Caruso, Page Cavanaugh, Bob Chester, Nat "King" Cole, Al "Jazzbo" Collins, Eddie Condon, Bing Crosby, Bob Crosby, Dorris Day, Delta Rhythm Boys, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Billy Eckstein, Boy Eldridge, Duke Ellington, Ziggy Elman, Bill Farrell, Ella Fitzgerald, Errol Garner, Terry Gibbs, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Glen Gray, Lionel Hampton, Phil Harris, Coleman Hawkins, Erskine Hawkins, Dick Haymes, Neal Hefti, Woody Herman, Eddie Heywood, Johnny Hodges, Billie Holiday, Illinois Jacquet, Harry James, Louis Jordan, Stan Kenton, Teddi King, John Kirby, Gene Krupa, Frankie Laine, Peggy Lee, and many others.
- Bronson (Harold) sound recording collection, 1956-1987Harold Bronson, co-founder of Rhino Records, worked as a writer for the UCLA Daily Bruin and went on to write for Rolling Stone Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, L.A. Free Press, and Rock Magazine. He played music at UCLA with Mark Leviton, (and subsequent noted author) Jon Kellerman in the retro-punk band, Mogan David and His Winos. Joining Richard Foos at the Rhino Records store, he started the Rhino Records label in the store’s back room in 1978. The label began with novelty records, eventually branching out into archival reissues and definitive anthologies and various-artists series. Foos and Bronson established Rhino Home Video in 1985 specializing in oddball cult films and classic TV programs, and Kid Rhino in 1991. Rhino became a part of the Warner Music Group in 1998.
- Feather (Leonard) sound recording collection, 1960-Leonard Feather (b. London, Sept. 13, 1914; d. Encino, Calif., Sept. 22, 1994) was an American writer, composer, and arranger. Feather began writing about jazz for the Melody Maker in 1934. He taught at Loyola Marymount University (1972-74), the University of California, Riverside (1973), California State University, Northridge, and UCLA (1987-88), and, in addition to his ongoing work for Melody Maker, Down Beat, and the Los Angeles Times, Contemporary Keyboard and Jazz Times. He is best known as an author of scholarly works on jazz and as a columnist; because of his eminence as a writer his musical talent is often overlooked, yet it contributed much to his skillful reviews and articles.
- Collection of 78rpm sound discs 1910-1960 (Collection 174-M)Archival collection of 78 rpm sound recordings. The collection is in the midst of being processed. The finding aid will be updated periodically.
- Hocutt (George D.) collection of 78 rpm, 10-inch sound discs, 1920-1950This collection consists of 78 rpm, 10-inch sound discs. It was purchased from Ray Avery, the proprietor of Rare Records in Glendale, Calif., by George D. Hocutt.
- Barton (Eileen) sound recording collection (Collection PASC-M.0256)Collection consists of sound recordings made by and collected by singer, Eileen Barton.
- Bohn (Ronald) collection of film and television music sound recordings, 1955-1990 (Collection 105)The collection consists of commercially issued and other sound recordings, of music for television shows and motion pictures. The collection is in the midst of being processed. The finding aid will be updated periodically.
- Brill (Charlie) collection of Country Music sound recordings (Collection 900-M)The collection consists of 52 78 r.p.m. sound recordings featuring early, country music artists such as Hank Williams, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and Bill Monroe.
- Burk (Michael) sound recordings (Collection PASC-M.0272)Collection consists of popular music recordings recorded on 7 inch, 45 rpm vinyl records. Performers include Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Neil Sedaka, and Dinah Washington.
- Steiner (Max) Music Society sound recording (Collection PASC-M.0070)Collection consists of film soundtracks on cassettes issued by the Max Steiner Music Society of Kankakee, Ill. Works include: The adventures of Don Juan (1948); The adventures of Mark Twain (1944); All this, and heaven too (1940); Beyond the forest; The bride cam c.o.d. (1971); Casablanca (1942); City for conquest (1940); Come next Spring (1956); Close to my heart (1951); Crime school; Dark victory (1939); Deep valley; Dispatch from Reuters (1940); Dr. Erlich's magic bullet (1940); Escapade in Japan (1957); The First Lady; The flame and the arrow (1950); Force of arms (1951); Four daughters (1938); The fountainhead (1940); The Garden of Allah (1936); The gay sisters (1942); The glass menagerie (1950); Gone with the wind (1939); The great lie (1941); Helen of Troy (1955); The informer (1935); Intermezzo; In this our life (1942); Jezebel (1958); Johnny Belinda (1948); Kenneth Shure memorial tapes; Key Largo (1948); The letter (1940); Lightening strikes twice (1951); The lion and the horse; Maru Maru (1952); The miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952); Mission to Moscow (1943); Now voyager (1942); San Antonio; Saratoga trunk (1945); Since you went away; The searchers (1956); So big (1953); A star is born (1937); Submarine D-1; The themes; They died with their boots on; Tomorrow is forever (1946); The treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); Tributes; The unfaithful (1947); White banners (1938); Winter meeting (1948); Without honor (1949); The woman in white (1948). Also includes Aaron Copland's music for The heiress and Heinz Roemheld's music for The white hell of Pitz Palu.
- Tanner (Paul) music recordings (Collection PASC-M.0011)Collection consists of approximately 3,000 music recordings that are predominantly commercial shellac discs (78 rpm) and vinyl records (33 1/3 and 45 rpm) of jazz music. Also contains several 16-inch aluminum transcription discs, a film, and some film clips. Includes a separate collection of commercial and non-commercial recordings of the Glenn Miller Band, in which Tanner played trombone for a time.
- UCLA Music Library audio recordings (Collection PASC-M.0009)This collection consists of approximately 540 10-inch audiotapes containing copies of the Music Library's disc recordings.
- UCLA Archive of Popular American Music audiocassette collection (Collection PASC-M.0226)Collection consists of audiocassette tapes from the UCLA Archive of Popular American Music.
Oral History Interviews
- Martin Perlich InterviewsThe collection consists of interviews of prominent figures in the arts conducted by Martin Perlich. Interviewees include writers, directors, choreographers, and musical figures from Jazz, World music, and classical music, including contemporary composers. His interviews and other programming were broadcast during Cleveland Orchestra intermissions, and on radio stations in Los Angeles and Cleveland, NBC television, and Public Television outlets in Los Angeles and New York.
- Center for Oral History and Research Music InterviewsThe mission of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research is to document the history of Southern California and the Los Angeles metropolitan region through oral history interviews. In addition to interviews conducted by its own staff, the center accepts donated interviews that enhance its collecting areas.
Musical Arrangements
Library Special Collections holds collections of musical arrangements. Selections include:
- Ed Ames Musical Arrangements Collection 1962-1975Ed Ames, born Edmund Dantes Urick on July 9, 1927, is an American popular singer and actor. He is best known for his popular hits such as "When the Snow is on the Roses." He was part of the 1950s popular singing group called The Ames Brothers. The collection consists of arrangements of popular songs for Ames and stageband, by various arrangers.
- Ellis Club of Los Angeles Collection of Musical Arrangements and Papers, 1882-1990The collection consists of published choral music arrangements, mostly for TTBB, of classical and semiclassical works performed in concert by the Ellis Club, and miscellaneous documents relating to its history.
- Dean Martin Collection, 1960s-1970sThe collection consists of song arrangements by Ernie Freeman, Van Alexander, Alan Moore, Glen D. Hardin, Larry Muhoberac, Nelson Riddle, and others.
- Romo Vincent Collection of Musical Arrangements, 1937-1977Romo Vincent was born in Chicago on December 23, 1908; he was a comedic character actor, appearing in film and television productions between 1937 and 1977, often playing policemen and cab drivers; he died in Los Angeles on January 16, 1989. The collection consists of scores and musical arrangements used in Vincent's performances
- John Davidson Collection of Musical Arrangements for Television, 1964-1974.This collection consists of manuscripts or copies of musical arrangements for Davidson's television show.
- Helen Reddy Musical Arrangements CollectionThe collection consists of ozalid original scores and parts plus copies of arrangements used in Helen Reddy's television series and specials. Most arrangements are by Nelson Riddle.
- Polly Bergen Musical Arrangements Collection 1955-1970The collection consists of television and stage show arrangements for singer/actress, Polly Bergen.
- Joni Mitchell Collection of musical arrangements , 1960-1970This collection consists of holographs of musical scores originally belonging to composer, performer, Joni Mitchell.
- Collection of musical arrangements for the Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, ca. 1956-1961The collection consists of arrangements and parts in manuscripts or ozalid copies, of popular songs for performers on the Tennessee Ernie Ford Show during the 1956-1961 seasons.
- Nat Farber Collection of Television Show Music Arrangements 1960?-1970?The collection consists of manuscript scores of arrangements by various arrangers for the Carol Burnett Show, Danny Kaye Show, Glen Campbell Show, Rex Allen Show, Dinah Shore Show, and other productions; script and rehearsal schedules for Carol Burnett Shows.