The SAA Performing Arts Roundtable
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Performance! The SAA Performing Arts Roundtable encourages the exchange of information on historical WINTER 2017 NEWSLETTER OF THE SA A and contemporary PERFORMING ARTS ROUNDTABLE documentation of music, dance, theatre, motion pictures, and other performance media. I N S I D E THIS ISSUE: Message from the P. 2 Co-Chairs The Unconventional P. 4 Life of Henry Fillmore The Living Legacies P. 10 of Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis A Crash Course in P. 20 Sheet Music Barbara Morgan’s P. 24 Archive Returns to UCLA News P. 36 Credits P. 40 P A G E 2 Message from the Co-Chairs Greetings PAR members, relationship to the proposed changes Now that 2017 is in full swing, we were addressed by the SAA Council, hope that your successes in 2016 are and once the dust had settled and the inspiring you for the year ahead at details of the change had been your many wonderful performing arts established, we were asked to discuss programs. The recent election and with Roundtable members the need to transition to a new presidential change our group’s name. administration may suggest to some of you that we’re living in an unusual With the transition from a roundtable chapter of United States history. to a section, SAA suggested a simple Thankfully, regardless of today’s change of our acronym from PAR politics, America’s vital and vibrant (Performing Arts Roundtable) to PAS performing arts community continues (Performing Arts Section). While this to challenge social injustice through was a logical substitution, we discov- beautiful and thoughtful artistic ered that the Percussive Arts Society expressions. And we, as archivists and used this same acronym for its special collections curators, have the organization, so we felt another privilege and opportunity to preserve acronym for our group would be and provide access to these expres- better. After a series of email sions for future generations. exchanges on our group listserv, general consensus emerged that the SAA’s reconfiguration of sections and group’s focus on the performing arts roundtables into one affinity group should be clearly represented in a new designation has been implemented, and acronym. The result of this discussion all of SAA’s roundtables are now led to two potential names: “PArts” designated as sections. The critical section, or “PAR” section, with the issues raised by SAA members in understanding that the “AR” portion of the acronym represents the first two letters of the word “Arts.” Based on the group’s feedback, we decided to keep PAR as the group’s acronym, in keeping with the latter option, making the new official group name “PAR Section.” This past fall, our group’s superb Performance! newsletter editor, Helice Koffler, rotated out of this position, and Maureen Cech, who had been the PERFORMANCE! WINTER 2017 P A G E 3 assistant newsletter editor, became the new information professional who is tasked with editor. Maureen worked with Helice for the archival description of music materials. past year on excellent issues of the newslet- Elizabeth will continue to provide updates to ter, which we hope everyone has enjoyed the PAR section as the project continues and reading. Helice’s work with the newsletter would be glad to answer questions and hear over the past several years has been excep- your feedback about issues related to archival tional, and we commend her for her tireless description of music scores. work and attention to the many details of Performance! We wish her well and welcome During this same meeting, Scott also talked Maureen as our new newsletter editor, with briefly about a special hip-hop panel presenta- Amanda Axel as assistant editor. Amanda is tion that he was developing with a colleague, the Processing Archivist for the Berklee Alonso Avila, from the University of Iowa, College of Music. which focused on the application of social justice principles to archival practice. The During the Performing Arts section’s 2016 proposed panel, “Liberation: A Hip Hop State annual meeting in Atlanta, Kate Crowe of Place and Mind,” was accepted by the 2017 discussed the strategic direction of the SAA Program Committee, and we look roundtable, specifically how we can most forward to presenting this alternative session effectively collaborate with our affiliate/ later this year. The session will feature hip- partner organizations (Music Library Associa- hop performance and open discussion with tion, Theater Library Association, American participants to actively define social justice as Theatre Archive Project, Dance Heritage a guiding preservation principle for archivists. Coalition) to ensure that we not only know This special hands-on musical dialogue will what’s happening with them, but also how we utilize archival hip-hop specialists and local can best contribute to their work. To that Portland hip-hop artists to express through end, Elizabeth followed Kate and discussed music and words social justice as a statement her work co-chairing the Music Library of preservation’s place and mindset. Opposite page: Association’s Working Group for Archival PAR members Description of Music Materials. The group’s To close out this short update, we want to enjoyed a tour of charge is to develop a supplement for remind you that the Performing Arts listserv the Johnny Describing Archives: A Content Standard to help is a great way to either gather performing Mercer collection at 2016 annual archivists and others who are tasked with arts information from your section colleagues conference, describing music scores in archival collections. or post information about your great Georgia State The timeframe for the project is two years, programs. The current listserv address is University Library with the group’s recommendations to be [email protected]. completed in 2018. Although the Music Library Association is the lead organization Here’s wishing all of our performing arts behind the initiative, the working group’s colleagues a wonderful start to your 2017 membership has broad representation and year. includes many SAA members, including one representative from SAA’s Technical Subcom- Scott Schwartz and Elizabeth Surles mittee for DACS. Our goal is to establish Performing Arts Roundtable Section guidelines for best practices that will meet the Co-Chairs needs of any archivist, librarian, or other P A G E 4 USING ARCHIVES Klaxons, Screamers, Rolling Thunder, and Mike the Radio Hound: The Unconventional Life of Henry Fillmore This page: Scenario (1971) by Alwin Niko- by Scott W. Schwartz lais Scott W. Schwartz is the Director and Archivist for Music and Fine Arts for the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Each November, the University of Illi- performances with the original Fill- nois’ Sousa Archives and Center for more band made him a star in the American Music celebrates American 1920s and 1930s. Music Month. This year, we examined America’s trombone and circus music This year’s programming was well re- performance traditions through the ceived by the many students, faculty, music and life of Henry Fillmore (1881- and members of the general public 1956). who attended, but some events went in directions that were completely un- We began the celebration of expected and likely would have Fillmore’s 135th birthday in brought a raucous laugh from Fillmore November with a master were he alive today. class and lecture by the country’s leading bass trom- James Henry Fillmore (1881-1956) was bonist, Doug Yeo, followed an unconventional trombonist, com- by a halftime show featuring poser, and bandmaster who loved cir- the University’s Marching cus music, American football, and his Illini Band performing Mere- music-loving dog. He was the only son dith Wilson’s famous 76 of a deeply religious family, and his par- Trombones. From the fifty- ents hoped that he would either be- yard line, seventy-six trom- come a minister or a church compos- bonists from across the state er. Fillmore’s father and uncle owned of Illinois played for over Cincinnati’s Fillmore Brothers Compa- 45,000 fans. The annual cele- ny, one of the country’s leading pub- bration closed on December lishers of church music and hymnals at 3rd with a special concert of the turn of the twentieth century. Fillmore’s original composi- tions performed by the Uni- Growing up with four sisters and versity’s Wind Orchestra and Hindsley deeply religious parents was not always Symphonic Band, and the Cincinnati, easy for Fillmore. The hustle of Cin- Ohio, Fillmore Wind Band in the Kran- cinnati’s river wharfs and his and his nert Center’s grand Foellinger Great Uncle Fred’s love of the many circuses Hall. These ensembles were joined by that passed through town frequently local “singing” canine Missy Boshaft distracted him from the drudgeries of (aka Missy the Mischievous One) to school, piano lessons, and weekly trips bark the role of Fillmore’s beloved mu- to church. While he showed little in- sical hound dog Mike, whose exclusive terest in learning the piano, he taught PERFORMANCE! WINTER 2017 P A G E 5 himself to play the duced Henry to the guitar, flute, and seedy-side of circus violin. However, the life. Homesick, Fill- trombone fascinat- more returned to ed him the most Cincinnati, where because it always his father enrolled led the circus bands. him in Ohio’s Mi- His father felt trom- ami Military Insti- bonists weren’t re- tute. spectable musicians, but Fillmore’s Fillmore was tasked mother recognized to form a string the instrument’s orchestra—the first potential to keep of its kind for the him out of mischief. school—by the In- His father eventual- stitute’s founder, ly agreed to pay for Colonel Orvon “proper” music les- Graff Brown.