ARSC - Association for Recorded
Sound Collections


ARSC NEWSLETTER - Fall 1999 - No.89

General Advertising
Classified Advertising
President's Message
ARSC 2000 Conference - Program Sessions
ARSC 2000 Conference - Chapel Hill
Sustaining Members
Donor Members
ARSC to join IASA for 2001 Annual Conference
The New ARSC BULLETIN is here!
ARSC Sponsors Recorded Sound Discussion List
Call for Nominations - ARSC Awards for Excellence Serendipity
New Members
Introducing ARSC People
    Michael Biel
    David Hamilton
Coming Events of Possible Interest to Members
Publication Information


Advertising

Help ARSC Grow with Matching Grants

Does your employer have a "matching contribution" program? Many do. This doubles your contribution to ARSC at no cost to you. Ask your employer and send your employer's form to Peter Shambarger, ARSC Executive Director along with your contribution.

Volunteer Needed
Assistant Editor, ARSC Journal

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).

Announcement: The Columbia Master Book Discography

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


Classified Ads

Terry Tullos Wayland

Wanted: Vintage 78 rpm Era Company Record Sleeves for research in progress. For further information please visit our webpage at http://www.bluesworld.com/Wayland.html. Those wishing to include sleeves, for documentation in this project, are invited to contact:
Terry Tullos Wayland
Conservation Associates
17710 Ranch Road 12
Wimberley, Texas 78676-6008
Telephone/Fax: 512.847.9295 e-mail: archives@wimberley-tx.com

Tim Brooks

Tim Brooks' most wanted record: "Carving the Duck" by George W. Johnson on Zonophone 2030 (7"), Zonophone 5290 (7" and 9"), and possibly Victor 2197 (10"). Either the disc or a tape is needed for research. If you have ever seen any of these issues please contact me at: Box 31041
Glenville Stn.
Greenwich CT 06831
e-mail: tbroo@aol.com

Don Chichester

FREE TO A GOOD HOME: A collection of over 2,000 classical Lps (instrumental, orchestral, vocal, etc.). From the estate of the late Robert Morse Peckham. Available for pick-up from:
Leigh B. Hanes, Jr.
2039 Oak Ridge Rd.
Fincastle, VA 24090
Telephone/fax: 540.473.3473
e-mail: lhanes8854@aol.com

Marc Bernstein

ARSC/MAPS member, private record collector and archivist seeks financial aid for reissue projects on CD of the following artists. First priority: my favorite singer, Arthur Middleton; 2nd priority: Sir Henry J. Wood; 3rd priority, Arthur Catterall, violinist. All recordings are from my 78 rpm record collection.
Marc Bernstein
165 Old Forest Hill Rd.
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M6C-2G7
Telephone: 416.781.3810 (h), 416.969.7800 Ext. 2278 (w)
e-mail: mbernstein165old@yahoo.com

Antonio Popp

PICTURE - DISCS - RECORDS. Buy Vogue, Mercury, RCA, Saturne as well as any beautifully designed 33 rpm LP; 45 rpm 7-inch and all unusual shaped cardboard picture - records.
Antonio Popp
Schillerstr. 9
65549ŠLimburg, GERMANY

Gary Hickling

Lotte Lehmann (German soprano, 1888-1976) web site:
lottelehmann.org
Complete discography and bibliography; short, medium and long biographies (in English and German); a photo and sound gallery; news; links; information on the various archives that have extensive Lehmann holdings.

Contribute to ARSC and Save on Taxes

ARSC TREASURER Steve Ramm reminds members that contributions made in the form of appreciated securities or mutual funds are fully deductible at the fair market value on the date of the transfer. This is a way to exclude taxable gain on your investments and help ARSC at the same time. For further information call Steve Ramm at 215-545-3290 x130 or email him at stevenramm@aol.com.

Free ads!

ARSC Members! Place free personal (not-for-profit) ads in the ARSC Newsletter. ARSC Members can place one free personal classified ad in each issue of the Newsletter (on a space available basis). Try it; you'll like it. Contact:
Ricki Kushner
Telephone: 202.707.0164 or 202.671.3434
Fax: 202.707.8464
e-mail: fkus@loc.gov


President's Message

Greetings from Rochester!

Members of ARSC's Executive Committee enjoyed a taste of southern hospitality and charm at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), where we convened for the semi-annual Board of Directors meeting on November 13, 1999. The meeting was hosted by the Manuscripts Department of the Wilson Library at UNC-CH, site of the 2000 ARSC Annual Conference. Local Arrangements Committee Chair Steve Weiss, Sound and Image Librarian for the Southern Folklife Collection, and Tim Pyatt, Curator of Manuscripts, offered a preview of conference arrangements, and left all of us eager to return to Chapel Hill this Spring. Many of us stayed in the elegant historic Carolina Inn, situated on the campus of UNC-CH, which will serve as the official conference hotel. We also had an opportunity to tour Granville Towers, which will provide alternative conference housing at a very affordable rate. If you have not attended an ARSC Conference before, this is certainly the time and place to do so. Please mark your calendars and plan on joining us in Chapel Hill on May 31-June 3, 2000.

The following business was discussed at the Board meeting on November 13:

I hope to see you all in Chapel Hill!

Suzanne Stover
President, Association for Recorded Sound Collections
Eastman School of Music
26 Gibbs Street
Rochester, New York 14604
716.274-1049
e-mail: ssto@mail.rochester.edu


ARSC 2000 Conference: Program Sessions

Program Chair Mike Biel has room for a few more program sessions at the 2000 annual conference in Chapel Hill, NC. Presentation proposals are still coming in, and we shall have a preview for you in the next newsletter. But we are, of course, still looking for more. So here again are the procedures for submitting proposals. Please put forth your ideas in either a letter or an e-mail and send them to:
Dr. Michael Biel, ARSC Program Chair
Morehead State University
UPO 893
Morehead, Kentucky 40351 USA
e-mail: m.biel@morehead-st.edu
(If using e-mail, please use this office address. Start the subject line with: ARSC CONF; give the title, a brief synopsis of the topic, a list of participants if other than yourself alone, and how much time you think this would need.)

If you want to propose an interesting topic and have us find participants, send those suggestions along too! I will be acknowledging the receipt of all proposals, so if you have not heard from me within two weeks after submission, please check with me again. However, we do not intend on making final decisions until after late January. You will hear of our decisions after that.

This is your conference, and we want to present a program that will be of interest to everybody. If there is some area or topic you have felt were under-represented in recent conferences, let us know.

Michael Biel, Ph.D., 2nd Vice-President & Program Chair


ARSC 2000 Conference: Chapel Hill

Tim Pyatt and Steve Weiss, Co-chairs, Local Arrangements Committee hope that all ARSC members will consider spending May 31 through June 3, 2000 in what locals like to call "the Southern Part of Heaven." As your hosts, we have scheduled what we trust will be a few enjoyable days in Chapel Hill, North Carolina!

The conference will open with a reception at the recently restored Carolina Inn. While you enjoy hors d'oeuvres and drinks, ARSC member Mike Casey and his band, Cucanandy, will treat you to music from Cape Breton and Ireland. Conference program sessions will be held in the Pleasants Room of historic Wilson Library on the campus of the University of North Carolina. Events slated for Thursday and Friday include "behind the scenes" tours of the Southern Folklife Collection, a special exhibit of historical sound recordings, and an open house of the Manuscripts Department, home to the Southern Historical Collection, Southern Folklife Collection, and the John Rivers Sound Preservation Studio. We also will provide all attendees with a map of local record and book stores as well as a listing of music in clubs during your visit.

The final event of the conference will be an old-fashioned pig-pickin' on the lawn in front of Wilson Library. Although North Carolina hog farmers cannot understand why, we also will provide a vegetarian alternative. The Green Level Entertainers will serenade us with some traditional bluegrass music.

Accommodations will be available at a wide range of prices. The nearby Carolina Inn provides elegant accommodations while Granville Towers provides more economical lodging in a dorm-like setting. Both are within easy walking distance of the campus meeting site and downtown. All majors motels/hotels can be found within a short driving distance; a list of these will be included in your registration packet.

Chapel Hill is quite pleasant in late May with temperatures ranging from the high 70s in the day to the low 60s in the evening. Downtown Chapel Hill - only a block from campus, the Carolina Inn, and Granville Towers - offers a wealth of entertainment and dining. You can shop for used and rare books, dine on everything from shrimp and grits to burritos, sample beer at one of our two micro- breweries, or listen to a wide range of live music. We hope you will mark your calendars for May 31- June 3, 2000 and plan on partaking of our Southern hospitality!


Sustaining Members

Each Fall issue of the ARSC Newsletter include a big thank you to those members who have "gone the extra mile," to become Sustaining Members for the year. 1999 saw fifty-five members reach the level of Sustaining Members. We are proud to recognize these individuals and companies for their support, and for their many contributions this year. So at this time, we would like to recognize the following who qualify as Sustaining Members for 1999:
David Annett David Barron
Marc Bernstein Garrett H. Bowles
Lee Bracy Donald Breese
Tim Brooks David Budd
A. N. Campbell, Jr. Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Barrett Crawford Evan Crawley
Cutting Corporation William A. Davidson
Robert A. Davis Michael Devecka
David J. Diehl Ray Edwards
Milton Erickson James Farrington
Frank Forman Gary A. Galo
Glen Gould David Hall
J. Wm. Himmelreich Marian Himmelreich
Warren W. Keats Walter Keevil
Bill Klinger Konrad Kuchenbach
John W. Lambert Thomas Liebert
Wayne H. Lott Alexander Magoun
Colin Mackenzie Anna-Maria Manuel
Brenda Nelson-Strauss James North
Arthur S. Pfeffer Peter J. Rabinowitz
Jack Raymond Record Technology, Inc.
Roy Ringo Phil Rochlin
Dennis D. Rooney Al Schlachtmeyer
Burton J. Shapiro Ted. P. Sheldon
David Sommerfield Richard K. Spottswood
Suzanne Stover Gary Thalheimer
Gene Tognacci Patricia Turner
Robert Van Wallegham Seth B. Winner
You too can become a Sustaining Member of ARSC. According to the ARSC Bylaws, any "Regular Member who voluntarily contributes an additional amount at least equal to the prescribed annual dues shall be recognized as a Sustaining Member during the year for which dues are being paid." This means that a year 2000 Sustaining Member will be one who contributes at least $36.00 or more above the cost of the Annual Dues. Join or rejoin at that level for 2000 and we will happily recognize your strong support at this time next year.

Donor Members

Each year, ARSC and its members are especially pleased to recognize individuals who have supported ARSC as Donor Members, contributing at least $200 to strengthen ARSC programs and services during the year. For 1999 these individuals qualify as Donor Members:
Edwin G. Goldstein Richard L. Benson
David Hamilton Roger Snape
Chris Strachwitz Samuel Thorne
* * * * *

We wish to thank these and all other members who have made financial gifts to ARSC during the year. Your contributions help ARSC continue its programs and undertake new activities which would be difficult if we depended on our modest dues alone.

Peter Shambarger, ARSC Executive Director


ARSC to join IASA for 2001 Annual Conference

The Executive Boards of ARSC and the International Association of Sound and Audio-Visual Archives (IASA) are pleased to announce that the London conference scheduled for September 23- 26, 2001 will be a joint conference between the two organizations. This will be the first time that ARSC has met outside of North America. The last ARSC conference held jointly with IASA was the 1995 Washington, DC conference; it was clear that members from both organizations enjoyed the additional choice and range of conference sessions provided then. London is an appropriate venue for ARSC since it has a number of active European members. The partnership is considered to have many advantages for both organizations and the extra input from ARSC to the organization and content of the conference is most welcome.


The New ARSC BULLETIN is here!

The ARSC Bulletin No. 32 covering 1997-98 is now available to all ARSC members from the Executive Director. It contains all reports and related information presented by members of the ARSC Board of Directors and committee chairs at the spring and fall Board of Directors and Executive Committee meetings plus the minutes of the Annual Membership Meeting. If you missed attending the annual meeting or would like to stay informed about the various activities and committees of ARSC, then you will find the ARSC Bulletin a useful publication. To keep down publication costs, copies of the Bulletin are sent each year to those members who request it. Some members already have received their copy, either because they already are on the mailing or because copies were available at the 1999 conference in Madison, WI. If you would like to receive a FREE copy of the ARSC Bulletin, simply contact Peter Shambarger, Executive Director, at the address appearing in the masthead of this issue. Your name will be added to the regular mailing list.


ARSC Sponsors Recorded Sound Discussion List

ARSC sponsors a new Internet discussion list to facilitate the exchange of information on sound archives and promote communication among those interested in preserving, documenting, and making accessible the history of recorded sound. The new discussion list will provide a forum for the discussion of recorded sound research, history, innovations, preservation, archiving, copyright issues and access as well as announcements about ARSC activities and publications. All messages posted to the list will be archived permanently. The list is intended to complement other lists which may be more appropriate forums for subjective discussions of particular recordings or artists, restoration of antique equipment, buying and selling recordings and the collecting of ephemera.

The list is hosted by The Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. Esther Gillie (e-mail: esth@mail.rochester.edu), Sound Recording Archivist, Eastman School of Music, coordinates and takes care of the day to day management of the list and is assisted by Larry Appelbaum (e-mail: lapp@loc.gov), Library of Congress and David Seubert (e-mail: seubert@library.ucsb.edu), University of California, Santa Barbara.

To subscribe to the list send an e-mail to majordomo@cc.rochester.edu, leaving the subject line blank. In the first line of the body of the message, type "subscribe arsclist" and the message normally. In a few minutes, you will receive an automated reply from the majordomo with a code to authenticate your subscription request. Follow the directions in the message properly and send back the authorization command in a second e-mail majordomo@cc.rochester.edu. You will then be subscribed to the list.

For more information about the ARSC list, visit the ARSC web page at
http://www.arsc-audio.org
or contact the listowners at the above email addresses.


Call for Nominations: ARSC Awards for Excellence

All ARSC members and others are invited to propose candidates for the 2000 ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research. Nominations may be made by anyone, whether a member of ARSC or not. Eligible publications include any printed work - book, monograph, article, liner notes - first published during 1999. The work may be on any subject related to recorded sound. This includes histories, discographies, and recording artist biographies in any field of music, speech or technology, genre (classical, popular, rock, jazz, country, folk, spoken word, labels, phonographs, etc.), as well as modern techniques for the preservation or reproduction of older recordings. The work should deal primarily with historical periods, defined as at least ten years prior to publication (e.g., pre-1990), with the exception of works related to preservation and technology. In addition, nominations are sought for the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to an individual in recognition of his or her life's work in published recorded sound research. The deadline for nominations is January 31, 2000. The Awards Committee especially welcomes information concerning eligible foreign and small press publications that might otherwise be overlooked. Please forward the author, title, publisher, and publisher's address for each nominee to either of the ARSC Awards Co-Chairs:
Brenda Nelson-Strauss
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
220 So. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60604 USA
nelsonstraussb@chicagosymphony.org

Vincent Pelote
Institute of Jazz Studies
Rutgers - State University of New Jersey
Newark, NJ 07102 USA
pelote@andromeda.rutgers.edu


Serendipity

In the summer of 1996 ARSC member Rodger Holtin placed an exhibit of some of his collection in the main display case at the Fayetteville, Arkansas Public Library. During the month it was up, one of the library patrons, Gary Weidner, came in one day and, noticing the old phonography, guessed that whoever had that stuff might be able to make a cassette of an old "acetate" 78 made many years ago by his father. The librarian got Holtin together with Weidner, and the cassette was made.

In the process of making the tape, Weidner told Holtin that he had just finished writing his research paper for a Master of Art in Illustration at Syracuse University on the subject of 50 Years of Change in Illustrated Music Packaging. When Weidner offered to pay for the tape, Holtin suggested a copy of his paper would be sufficient. Holtin says "we both got a bargain."

The recording was of his father, Earl Weidner, Jr. as a boy soprano. Holtin says it was a refreshing change from the endless piano recitals one often finds on such discs. It is also a little chunk of history, for the boy soprano grew up and became a professional violinist. He played in the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a few years under Serge Koussevitzky in the late 1940's. His father, Earl Weidner, Sr. was a professional organist.

Last summer the library invited Holtin to provide another display for the month of July, 1999. Searching for a fresh approach, he immediately recalled Weidner's paper, and invited him to help with the next project, based largely on Weidner's paper. Weidner quickly accepted and they divided the labor. Holtin covered the early days of phonograph advertising from Nipper to the work of Alex Steinweiss at Columbia, and Weidner carried forth from there through David Stone Martin to the creative CD promotions of today. It was "a hit," as one of the library staff said. In fact it was held over two extra weeks. One feature of the display was the inclusion of ARSC literature. Several membership brochures were distributed. Weidner and Holtin were interviewed on public radio station KUAF and by the Fayetteville cable television station. The library has them booked again for September of 2000.

There is one loose end to this story. Earl Weidner, Sr. made one LP, of the Messiah, performed on the pipe organ in Boston's Symphony Hall, possibly for Columbia, in the late 1950s or early 1960s. His grandson needs a copy, and Holtin would like to help him find one. Be prepared to trade for a very good paper on Illustrated Music Packaging, a great offer according to Holtin (e-mail: holtin@arkansas.net).


New Members

ARSC welcomes the following new members to our ranks. We're glad to have them with us and look forward to working and playing with them.

Richard Lenk
Telephone: 201.843-8963

Burt Shapiro
Telephone: 410.462-8503(w)

Robert Butler
e-mail: bbutler@ngweb.net

Mark Obert-Thorn
e-mail: TransfrGuy@aol.com
Website: www.2xtreme.net/regina-r/obert-thorn/index.html

Paul Campion
Telephone: +44 (0)208 878 0701
Website: www.musictalks.freeuk.com

Joel Bresler
Telephone: 781.862-2432
e-mail: jbresler@ma.ultranet.com


Introducing ARSC People

Michael Biel

Your new 2nd-Vice President/Program Chair, Michael Biel, is not a newcomer to ARSC or the ARSC Executive Board. Since joining ARSC in 1971 he has attended every conference except one, served as 2nd Vice-President and 1st Vice-President, President, and contributing editor of the ARSC Journal. He fulfilled the responsibilities of Local Arrangements Chair for the memorable 1977 Orange, New Jersey conference which celebrated the 100th anniversary year of the phonograph. He presented an illustrated talk on "Electrical Recording before Western Electric" that year, and since that time has made numerous other conference presentations.

Dr. Biel is a lifelong record collector, and now has amassed over 75,000 items. He held the position of archivist of the Northwestern University Radio Archive Project at the time he joined ARSC, and was working on his lengthy doctoral dissertation "The Making and Use of Recordings in Broadcasting before 1936," completed the week Elvis died in 1977. His collection documents the technological history of the broadcasting and recording industries, and covers practically all types of recordings and genres. He has particular interest in spoken word, comedy, documentary, topical songs, and Eastern Europe especially the former Soviet Union. Just about all of these interests are combined in his discographical work on Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf."

Mike has been married since 1968 to Sheila, and they have one daughter, Leah. At the age of 15, Leah is showing all the signs and symptoms of becoming a record collector, and is well on her way towards her own addiction to shellac, vinyl, and polycarbonate. If her school schedule permits (pray for no snow) she is hoping to attend the ARSC conference this year. Dr. Biel is Professor of Radio-TV at Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky, and the family resides in nearby Owingsville, where Sheila works as a Registered Nurse.

David Hamilton

David Hamilton's checkered career includes five years as record librarian at Princeton University, and six as editor of music books for W.W. Norton. Since 1974, he has been a free- lance consultant and music critic, writing for The Nation, The New Yorker, High Fidelity, Opera Quarterly, Opus, Opera News, The New York Times, and other publications. His writing has twice received ASCAP/Deems Taylor Awards. He edited The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia (1987) and wrote The Listener's Guide to Great Instrumentalists (1982), also contributing to the three volumes of Opera on Record (1979-84), and to Song on Record (1986) and The Puccini Companion (1994); he served on the editorial Board of The New Harvard Dictionary of Music and The New Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (1996). Co-producer of the Metropolitan Opera Historic Broadcast Recordings since 1983, he also co- produced The New York Public Library edition of The Mapleson Cylinders: 1900-1904. He is currently on the Board of Directors of New World Records and the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School. A member of ARSC from its earliest years, he has served in various offices, including the ARSC Awards committee. David joined the ARSC Board of Director in May 1999.


Coming Events of Possible Interest to Members

Here is a listing of events to help ARSC members plan for participation.

2000:
Jan. 19-22     IASA/AMIA     Joint Technical Symposium = Paris, France
Feb. 19-22     AES     108th Convention - Paris, France
Feb. 23-26     MuLA     Annual Conference - Louisville, KY
May 31-June 3     ARSC     Annual Conference - Chapel Hill, NC
June ?     ISO/AES     Joint Technical Commission - Miami, FL
July 6-13     ALA     Annual Conference - Chicago, IL
July 3-7     IASA     Annual Conference - Singapore
Aug. 6-11     IAML     Annual Conference = Edinburgh, Scotland
Aug. 13-16     IFLA     General Conference - Jerusalem, Israel
Sep. 22-25     AES     109th Convention - Los Angeles, CA
2001:
Sep. 23-26     ARSC/IASA     Annual Conference - London, Great Britain

Note:
AES = Audio Engineering Society
ALA = American Library Association
AMIA = Association of Moving Image Archivists
IAML = International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centers
IASA = International Association of Sound and Audio-Visual Archives
IFLA = International Federal of Library Associations
ISO = International Standards Organization
MuLA = Music Library Association


Publication Information

The ARSC Newsletter is published quarterly in February, June, September, and November. Submissions should be typed and well-written. Electronic e-mail submissions are strongly encouraged to this address: Ted Sheldon, Editor
UMKC, Miller Nichols Library
5100 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO     64110-2499
e-mail: sheldont@umkc.edu
Fax: 816.333.5584
Telephone: 816.235.1531

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. 90 (Winter 2000)     Advertising: January 22, 2000     Editorial: January 29, 2000
No. 91 (Spring 2000)     Advertising: May 14, 2000     Editorial: June 7, 2000
No. 92 (Summer 2000)     Advertising: August 15, 2000     Editorial: August 20, 2000
No. 93 (Fall 2000)     Advertising: November 1, 2000     Editorial: November 7, 2000

© ARSC (Last modified: 1 March 2000)