General Advertising
Classified Advertising
Madison Medley: Conference '99
ARSC Award Winners
President's Message
Board of Directors Actions
ARSC Officers
ARSC 1999 Conference Tapes
ARSC at Work (Committee Report)
Grants Committee/Program
Coming Events of Possible Interest to Members
Publication Information
1999 dues are now past due. But its not too late to keep the ARSC Newsletter
and Journal coming, and to receive the ARSC Membership Directory. Send your
annual dues now and we'll reinstate your membership immediately. You will
receive all publications for the year, as well as information about the 2000
Chapel Hill, NC conference. Make your check payable to ARSC and mail to:
ARSC Executive Director
P.O. Box 543
Annapolis, MD 21440-0543
The Board of Directors of ARSC has created a new position and seeks qualified candidates for the position of Assistant Editor of the ARSC Journal, the premier journal of its kind in the world. The successful candidate will work directly with the editor of the ARSC Journal and assume responsibility for publication design and page layout, following agreed upon guidelines and specifications. The individual will also be responsible for production coordination, working primarily with the designated printing company. Familiarity with computer technology in publication work, including page design/layout software is a prerequisite and experience in print production is an asset.
For information or to apply, contact Barry R. Ashpole, Editor, ARSC Journal at ashpole@telsec.net or by phone at (416) 362-4804 (during normal business hours), or (416) 486-9669 (evenings or weekends).
How can you take advantage of this opportunity?
For information, contact Wendy Sistrunk at:
Miller Nichols Library
5100 Rockhill Rd.
Kansas City, MO 64110-2499
Telephone: 816.235.5291
Fax: 816.333.5584
e-mail: sistrunkw@umkc.edu
Display ad. See the website for information about this important magazine:
http://members.aol.com/reccoll/collector
The ARSC Membership & Outreach Committee is asking for those interested in being
part of this team to step up and be counted! Co-Chairs David Seubert and Wendy
Sistrunk are on the lookout for additional committee members. This committee's
responsibilities cover a wide range of things, from publicity and Internet
initiatives to serving the needs of current members and outreaching to new ones.
Your expertise and ideas would be most welcome! Contact:
David Seubert
Curator, Performing Arts Collections
Davidson Library Special Collections
University of California at Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
805-893-5444
Fax: 805-893-5749
or e-mail: seubert@library.ucsb.edu
The Columbia Master Book Discography, by Tim Brooks and Brian Rust (Discographies No.78 / ISBN 0-313-21464-6) is now available direct from Greenwood Press for $395.00
ARSC Members may take 20% off the above price when ordering!
For more information, contact Greenwood Press at
Greenwood Publishing Group
88 Post Road West
Westport, CT 06881
(203) 226-3571
website: www.greenwood.com
e-mail: webmaster@greenwood.com
Finest Vinyl and Archival Restoration:
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Eminence Records presents finest archival recordings
James Melton Early Years Vol. 1-2
Radio Recordings Vols. 1-15
The Revelers Vol. 1
The Revelers Vol. 2 w. James Melton
Gladys Swarthout Vol. 1-2
John Charles Thomas Vol. 1-2
Igor Garin
Carlos Remeriz Vol. 1
Patrice Munsel
Nelson Eddy Coming Soon
Many New Releases
Contact Andrew S. Pope
12517 Millstream Drive
Bowie, MD 20715
301-262-4439
Fred Williams
8313 Shawnee Street
Philadelphia, PA 19118
Telephone: 215-247-0410
If you missed the Madison Conference, you missed one of the best ever; large attendance, really fine programs, and superb views. One ARSC member's recollections include:
The opening reception polka party - Kenneth Frazier's tribute to collectors as sources for institutional collections - discovering why American entertainer Elsie Janis made most of her recordings in England - James Leary setting the Leitmotiv-to-be of the Conference, "Is the Accordion an acceptable musical instrument?" (an enthusiastic "Yes" from most of us; so pooh to Alan Lomax, who grumped "No") - an outstanding presentation of Hispanic Music by four of our most knowledgeable authorities - Timing the titans, Toscanini and Furtwangler (really clarity versus orchestral mass) - Proving that some of the Fred Waring arrangements are worthy of the House-on-the-Rock collections (HOTR is a nearby fantastic conflation of art and kitsch) - Just because everyone plays Rachmaninoff the way he wrote Rachmaninoff, doesn't mean that Rachmaninoff did - Continuing court controversy: what is the dollar value of the Nixon Tapes (probably less than the legal costs to date in one listener's view); an outstanding presentation - Warren Gilson's marvelous 78rpm recordings of Harry Partch music - Friday morning's AAA and sometimes heated Discography sessions under the watchful eye of Nipper (in the form of a huge model and oversize poster), who spoke for himself in a Nipper Centenary presentation - the Mills Library ethnic music collections including impromptu accordion selections played by Rick March - Watching the videotape presentation of Ernie Kovacs' use of music for some of the funniest moments ever telecast - a for-professionals-only cataloging presentation - well-presented Rockin' the Classics (mostly unimaginative arrangements) - another chapter in Ray Wile's ongoing, definitive history of the early recording industry - Saturday's mix of music and technology: Stuttering records, Senta's Ballad, and the Philadelphia Orchestra's fabulous Centennial Collection on CD; the resurrection of the Pickering 190 tone arm, Paramount Records by one of its owners, and CDR as a Preservation Medium (the Technical Committee finds it most promising, but how long will it last?) - a productive ARSC business meeting and joyous final banquet [see elsewhere this issue for elections and awards results] with entertainment by Lou and Peter Berryman, whose illustrated solution for preservation of LPs is to turn them into art: shape them in the oven, paint them gold, and hang them on the wall!
One cannot capture the Conference in so few words. Suffice it to say, it was a great experience, with at least something for everyone. The local arrangements were absolutely superb; everyone involved deserves maximum kudos. We saw members busily grabbing at the record sale. The snacks served during the breaks were almost too filling to permit fully exploiting the ethnic restaurants on State Street. One of our greatest pleasures was seeing people that we see every year, some that we hadn't seen for several years, and a gratifying number attending for the first time. To those newcomers we may have missed greeting - my wife and I tried to meet you all - please return next year.
Madison was wonderful. We expect next year at Chapel Hill will be great as well. Y'all come, yuh hear!
Elwood McKee, ARSC member
ARSC is pleased to announce the winners of the 1999 ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research, awarded this year during its annual conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Winners of the 1999 ARSC Awards for Excellence were announced during the banquet concluding the 33rd annual ARSC Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, on May 22, 1999. Chosen by a Blue Ribbon Committee consisting of David Hamilton, Richard Spottswood, Peter Blecha, Dan Morgenstern, and Robert George, awards for the best research in recorded sound were presented in several categories and are listed in the newsletter and here at the ARSC website.
The thirty-third ARSC Annual Conference in Madison, Wisconsin was a roaring success. Many thanks to the Mills Music Library of the University of Wisconsin Madison for its generous support in hosting the conference. Local arrangements committee co-chairs Geri Laudati and Steve Sundell provided superb facilities and outstanding entertainment, and program chair Jim Farrington put together an exceptional and varied program. It was a real treat to meet in such a scenic conference site, directly overlooking Lake Mendota, and to have the opportunity to hear so much live local music throughout the course of the four days. As always, it was wonderful to see old friends and meet new members. Conference attendance was very high (119 registrants), and there were a record 27 first time attendees. If you weren't able to make it to Madison, please plan on joining us next year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, May 31-June 3, 2000, to experience an ARSC Conference first hand!
At the Board of Directors meeting immediately preceding the conference, Ted Sheldon asked Executive Committee members if they might be interested in exploring the possibility of holding a joint ARSC/IASA Conference in London in September 2001. The group unanimously supported the idea, and recommended that it be brought to the membership for further discussion. The subject was raised at the May 22, 1999 Business Meeting, and was embraced enthusiastically by a huge majority of the members present. Based on the approval of the membership, we are now in the process of working with IASA to see if we can offer a London Conference in 2001. We will be sure to keep you posted as things develop so that we can all make plans well in advance if this possibility becomes a reality.
As you know, this was an election year for ARSC, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our outgoing directors for their service on the board: Ted Sheldon, immediate past president; Jim Farrington, 2nd vice president/program chair; and members-at-large Martin Silver and Bill Klinger. I also would like to thank the candidates who ran for office this year, and to welcome our incoming board members: Mike Biel, 2nd vice president/program chair; Ginny Danielson, secretary; and David Hamilton and Brenda Nelson-Strauss, members-at-large. Mark Tolleson, past secretary, will rejoin the board as 1st vice president/president elect, and Steve Ramm will stay on as treasurer. I look forward to working with our new board members.
Finally, I want to thank all of you who took the time to send comments on the 1999-2000 ARSC Membership Directory questionnaire. Kurt Nauck, editor of the Directory, compiled all of your questions, suggestions, and offers of help, and distributed them to members of ARSC's Executive Committee. Please know that your comments are truly appreciated, and will be taken into thoughtful consideration. If you have other comments or suggestions to share with us, I would love to hear from you.
Suzanne Stover, ARSC President
Eastman School of Music
26 Gibbs Street
Rochester, NY 14604
(716) 274-1049
e-mail: ssto@uhura.cc.rochester.edu
At its meeting on May 19, 1999 at the Edgewater Hotel in Madison, Wisconsin, the ARSC Board of Directors took the following actions to improve the association and further assist members and colleagues.
The recent election of officers resulted in the announcement at the members Business meeting in Madison, Wisconsin of the following persons who will lead ARSC during the coming year. These persons constitute the ARSC Board of Directors who work with Executive Director Peter Shambarger to guide ARSC into the next millenium.
Suzanne Stover, President
Mark Tolleson, 1st Vice President/President-Elect
Michael Biel, 2nd Vice President/Program Chair
Steven I. Ramm, Treasurer
Virginia Danielson, Secretary/Editor, ARSC Bulletin
David Hamilton, Member-at-Large
Brenda Nelson-Strauss, Member-at-Large
Audiocassette tapes of selected sessions presented at the 1999 ARSC conference in Madison, Wisconsin, are now available for purchase from the Rosenthal Archives of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at a cost of $10.00 per tape; a list and order form are presented in the newsletter and here at the ARSC website.
The Grants Program was founded in 1981 at the suggestion of Jerome F. Weber in order to assist research and publication in the areas of sound recordings or audio preservation. J. F., Michael Gray, and Les Waffen drafted the first set of guidelines, with provision for awards up to $100. By 1987-88, when Barbara Sawka took over leadership of the group, the maximum per grant had risen to $500 (sixteen of the thirty-three awards have been for that amount). The largest grant has been $1000, in 1997, the only one of that size so far.
Current members of the committee are
According to Committee files, others who have helped ARSC with its Grants Program
are Victor Greene and Louise Spear, who both served in the 1980's. Since there
is no complete year-by-year list of members and since our association has been
made particularly conscious of its history by Kurt Nauck's fine work on the
Directory this past year, readers who know of any members not mentioned in this
article should please send the information to: richard.warren@yale.edu or to the
Yale Music Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven, CT 06520.
Although most applicants have been from the United States, researchers have applied from many other parts of the world, and as far away as Australia. Applicants need not be members of the Association; but, if successful, they are asked to submit descriptions of their projects for publication in the ARSC Journal. Currently, the deadline for applications is the last day of February each year. Descriptions of the Grants Program with rules and guidelines are available from the Chairman, as are copies of the list of recipients, which includes brief identifications of topics.
Richard Warren Jr., Chairman
Key:
To arrange advertising in all ARSC publications contact:
Ricki Kushner, Advertising Manager
4857B S. 28th St.
Arlington, VA 22206
Telephone: 202.707.0164 (w); 202.671.3434
Fax: 202.707.8464
e-mail: fkus@loc.gov
Claims or other notification of issues not received must be sent to:
Executive Director, ARSC
P.O. Box 543
Annapolis, MD 21404-0543
e-mail: peters@umd5.umd.edu
Submission Deadlines
Issue
No. 88 (Summer 1999) Advertising: August 6, 1999 Editorial:
August 13, 1999
No. 89 (Fall 1999) Advertising: October 18, 1999 Editorial:
October 25, 1999
No. 90 (Winter 2000) Advertising: January 22, 2000 Editorial:
January 29, 2000
No. 91 (Spring 2000) Advertising: May 14, 2000 Editorial:
June 2, 2000
© ARSC (Last modified: 21 August 1999)