UCSB Special Collections to Preserve Music Academy Audio Archives
For Immediate Release June 21, 2007
Contact:| Tim Dougherty 805.695.7908 |
David Seubert |
Santa Barbara, CA -
The Music Academy of the West has transferred its audio archives to the
Special Collections Department at UC Santa Barbara Library under an
agreement reached late last year. The pact will ensure preservation of
the archives and aid music instruction and scholarship, say officials
at both institutions.
The Academy has already transferred recordings made between 1961 and 2001 to the library. The archives contain audio recordings of more than 500 performances presented by the Music Academy during its summer festivals, including operas, orchestra concerts, faculty and student recitals, and masterclasses. Master recordings of future festivals will be transferred to the library for preservation at the end of each season. The Music Academy will benefit from the library's expertise in audio preservation, while the UCSB Library will be able to further its own mission of preserving and providing public access to unique cultural materials, according to officials.
"This signals a wonderful new collaboration between the Music Academy and the UCSB libraries. I am happy that we share a similar vision to preserve these materials for posterity and to enable people to use them for research or teaching," said Glenn E. "Gene" Lucas, UCSB's executive vice chancellor.
"We are immensely pleased with this new arrangement, as it provides us with the best of both worlds. Our audio archives receive proper care and storage, yet they remain accessible. We are grateful to UCSB Special Collections," said Music Academy President NancyBell Coe.
Under the agreement, all recordings will be made available for researchers and the public. A complete inventory of the archives has been prepared by library staff. The library and the Music Academy are working to secure funding for the preservation of the most fragile audio formats, including open reel tapes and early digital recordings. The Music Academy will continue to house its document archives.
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation's preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many have established themselves as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy presents more than 175 public events annually. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
The Music Academy of the West Audio Archives will join other collections held by the UCSB Libraries, including the papers of Music Academy co-founder Lotte Lehmann, MAW faculty member Martial Singher, local performing arts organizations such as the Lobero Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, and the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera, and one of the largest compilations of historic sound recordings in the United States. More information can be found at www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/pa/. The UCSB Library is the largest library in California between Los Angeles and Palo Alto, with a collection of more than 2.7 million volumes and millions of other items, including periodicals, government publications, maps and satellite imagery, photographs, and over 20,000 linear feet of manuscript holdings.
For more information about the Music Academy of the West Archives, contact Tim Dougherty () at 805.695.7908 or David Seubert () at 805.893.5444.
###
