Music Library Association - Greater New York Chapter
October 1999 NEW SERIES NO. 37
CHAPTER OFFICERS
Chair: John Shepard, Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 521 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 (212) 870-1654; fax: (212) 870-1794 email: jshepard@nypl.org
Vice-Chair: Elizabeth Davis, Music and Arts Library, Columbia University, 2960 Broadway -- Room 701, New York, NY 10027 email: davise@columbia.edu
Secretary-Treasurer: Linda Fairtile, Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 521 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 (212) 870-1682; fax: (212) 870-1794 email: lfairtile@nypl.org
Newsletter Editor: Jane Nowakowski, Talbott Library, Westminster Choir College of Rider University, 101 Walnut Lane, Princeton, NJ, 08540 (609) 921-3658 ext. 305; fax: (609) 497-0243 email: nowakows@rider.edu
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAPTER CHAIR
John Shepard
Welcome to a new academic year! (Yes, even those of us who work in public libraries feel our lives shaped by the academic calendar.) It is a great honor to be elected as Chair of the Greater New York Chapter of MLA. I approach the Chair's duties with humility and not a little trepidation--the Chinese saying "may you live in interesting times" has been described either as a blessing and a curse, but, whatever its intent, these certainly are interesting times for the MLA regional chapters in general and the Greater New York Chapter in particular. MLA's unfolding Plan 2001 (http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/2k1_2k1.htm) discusses regional chapters at some length and describes them as key links in outreach to new members and in the professional development of all MLA members.
That magic number 2001 resonates especially strongly for the Greater New York Chapter as MLA plans for its first annual meeting in New York in 41 years (21-25 February 2001). The Local Arrangements Committee has been meeting over the summer and its Fundraising Subcommittee has been meeting since the beginning of the year. The Local Arrangements Committee members are the Chairs of the LAC Subcommittees (for Maps & Guides, Conference Program & Other Printing, Publicity, Receptions/Entertainment/Banquet, Registration, and Tours); Jane Gottlieb and I, as Co-Chairs of Local Arrangements for the 2001 meeting, also chair the Fundraising Subcommittee. The duties of these subcommittees are carried out according to a calendar in the MLA Convention Manual which has been refined according to the experiences of previous annual meetings. As deadlines for various tasks approach, those of you who volunteered for particular subcommittees may be approached by a chairperson for help. And new volunteers are definitely welcome! Please write or e-mail me at my addresses listed above if you are interested.
Your Local Arrangements subcommittee chairs are Matthew Wise (Maps & Guides), Frances Barulich (Conference Program & Other Printing), Christine Hoffman (Publicity), J. Rigbie Turner (Receptions/Entertainment/Banquet), Maureen Buja (Registration), and Daniel Cherubin (Tours). Please watch the postings from our chapter listserv, GNYMLA-L, for more updates on developments in plans for the 2001 annual meeting. And by all means post your questions and comments there! If you are not already subscribed, subscription and posting information may be found at the Greater New York Chapter website: http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~kalbach/listserv.htm
Our Fall chapter meeting will take place on Monday 8 November at 3:30 p.m. at the newly renovated Lila Acheson Wallace Library of The Juilliard School. Jane Gottlieb, the Head Librarian, will treat us to an hour-long tour of the new facility (I have had a preliminary peek, and I can attest that some of us involved in renovation projects will have reason to be envious). After a 30-minute chapter business meeting, we are invited to attend a special Juilliard Doctoral Forum and Library Dedication Lecture. The speaker will be Richard Taruskin, who has given his talk the title "Stravinsky and Us." The lecture will be followed at 6:30 p.m. by a reception. You are cordially invited to attend! Because seating capacity is somewhat limited, please let Jane know via e-mail (gottlieb@juilliard.edu) if you plan to stay for the lecture and reception.
In closing, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our outgoing chapter officers, J. Rigbie Turner and Hilary Albert, for their hard and dedicated work. I will continue to rely upon them both for advice and criticism! I am doubly grateful to Rigbie for devoting an entire chapter meeting to planning for the 2001 meeting.
I hope to see you on 8 November.
NEWS OF CHAPTER MEMBERS
MARY BENTON (Princeton, NJ) reports two recent publications:
15th Century Anonymous Chansons : Vol. II : from Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale, Q16, edited by Mary A. Benton has been published by Dovehouse Editions, Canada (IRCS 20). Vol. III and a reprint of Vol. I will be published next year.
Vox Feminae : the voices of medieval women in poetry and song, performed by the ensemble ARMONIA, has just been released by Griffin Renaissance Records, P.O. Box 15, Morrisville, PA 19067. Armonia, comprising a story teller/narrator, a singer and an instrumentalist, combines medieval music with medieval tales, songs, and poetry to create programs for both children and adults.
LEONARD J. LEHRMAN (Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library) retired as President of the Long Island Composers Alliance this past spring but continued as Archivist until June 13, at which time he became Archivist Emeritus. Boosey & Hawkes has recently published The Marc Blitzstein Songbook, edited by Lehrman (a suggestion he first made to the Blitzstein Estate 10 years ago), which he hopes will be volume one of three. Capstone Records recently issued a CD "Leonard Lehrman performs solo piano works by members of the Long Island Composers Alliance," on which 13 composers are represented, including himself. The next Capstone CD, out this summer, is a sequel to "Helene Williams Sings Songs of Love" (with Leonard at the piano), namely "Helene Williams Sings More Songs of Love," with Leonard again at the piano and harpsichord; this disc includes 13 of his songs.
Helene & Leonard moved to 33 Court Street, Valley Stream NY 11580 in July Their New York area performances for the second half of 1999 include
- Heine-Pushkin Bicentennial Concerts (two concerts given this past June
- Lehrman Semi-Centennial Concert (an August concert in Bryant Library, Roslyn)
- The Birthday of the Bank (my opera after Chekhov; two September performances: the Jewish Arts Festival of Long Island (Suffolk Y) and Queens College)
- The Family Man (my opera after Sholokhov; a September performance at the NYU Little Recital Hall)
- Heine Bicentennial Symposium & Concerts UPCOMING!! December 5 at Great Neck House; December 12 at Goethe House, Manhattan
PATRICK HARDISH'S (NYPL) Sonorities IV for soprano saxophone received international performances this year: on 7 March in Moscow and on 21 and 22 July 1999 in Kosta and Halmstad, Sweden, respectively.
GISELLE GLOVER (SUNY Stony Brook) received her M.A. in Music History from SUNY Stony Brook in May 1999. On 1 August 1999, she was appointed Director of the Music Library at Stony Brook.
