University Musical Society (University of Michigan) Records, 1879-2009

Organized in 1879 to "cultivate the public taste for music," the Society sponsors concert series, opera, dance and theater performances at the University of Michigan. The records consist of director's files of Albert A. Stanley, Charles A. Sink, Gail Rector, and Kenneth Fischer; include correspondence relating to performances and management of the Society; ledgers and account books, board of directors minutes and packets; files concerning the Choral Union, the University of Michigan School of Music, the Henry S. Frieze Memorial Organ Fund, and Hill Auditorium; also visual materials and audiotapes of Board meetings.

The records of the University Musical Society document its founding in 1879, governance and administrative restructuring through the years, its activities sponsoring musical, dance and theatrical performances on campus, and its role in music and arts education. The records include directors' correspondence files, board of directors minutes, ledgers and financial records, photographs, sound recordings and videotapes.

Intellectually, the records are organized into eight series: Directors' Correspondence, Financial records, Historical file, Board of Directors, Committees, Topical File, Contracts, Photographs, President's Correspondence, Staff Files, Executive Directors' Files, and Motion Pictures (film, videotape and digital materials).

The records were received in several major and numerous small accessions and the physical arrangement of the records (the order in which they are arranged in boxes/folders) reflects this. In this finding aid, the records are described in term of their intellectual organization regardless of the particular accession in which they were received. As a result, the box number order in which the descriptions are displayed in the contents list will not always be consecutive.

Director's Correspondence, 1893-1983

The series Director's Correspondence, 1898 to 1983 (boxes 1-64, 68-98, 103-106) is by far the largest in the collection and probably provides the greatest research interest. The correspondence covers the tenures of directors Francis W. Kelsey, Charles A. Sink and Gail W. Rector. The Directors' Correspondence series is organized by year and thereunder alphabetically by correspondent. There are occasional exceptions to this, for example, correspondence with or related to the National Association of Concert Managers, 1956-1962, is all filed under 1956 (box 79). This file reflects Charles Sink's important role within that organization.

Certain portions of the correspondence from the Rector years have been sampled, among these are correspondence from contributors, thank you notes from school groups and others receiving complimentary tickets, complaints, and "fan" letters. The large volume of inquiries received annually by Mr. Rector from both agents and performing artists interested in participating in a UMS concert series have not been retained.

Prior to 1941, correspondence regarding the School of Music is also found in this series. In general, however, the early correspondence is of low research value, serving the UMS as a general office file and containing great quantities of routine information about ticket purchases and other predictable concerns.

This series contains correspondence relating to events sponsored under the auspices of the University Musical Society. When attempting to locate artist correspondence in this series, it is recommended that the researcher look under both the artist and agent names. The greater bulk of correspondence with regard to individual artists is handled through the agent, rather than the artist themselves. There are, however, exceptions to this rule.

The Philadelphia Orchestra and May Festival folders contain a large amount of correspondence from conductor Eugene Ormandy, often providing insights into his ideas regarding programming and interpretation of specific works. Correspondence of other May Festival participants can also be found in various May Festival folders. A number of letters from composer Aaron Copland are included in the 1976 folders. He conducted several of his works in that year's May Festival.

Many artists of outstanding international repute are also represented in this series. Vladimir Horowitz gave several performances for the UMS and his correspondence is located in the folders of his agent, Harold Shaw, for the years 1976 and 1978. A list of Horowitz's personal requests for a performance is included, as is correspondence with his wife, Wanda Toscanini Horowitz, who discusses the presentation of a film honoring her father that was to be presented in conjunction with a performance of her husband.

In 1981 Alberto Ginastera was commissioned to write a piano concerto to be premiered by Anthony di Bonaventura at a UMS concert. Correspondence related to this event is located in the Thea Dispeker Artists folder. The 1982 Ann Arbor Summer Festival folder includes transcripts of two interviews Gail Rector conducted with French mime Marcel Marceau.

A large number of artists are represented in the 1983 and 1984 Gail Rector 25th anniversary folders. These are indicative of the relationships Rector established with these artists during his tenure with the University Musical Society.

Probably some of the more surprising correspondence in this collection are a series of letters from Dr. Jack Kevorkian in 1976 and 1977. He was involved in the production of a video of UMS Messiah performances.

As stated above, this collection does not attempt to represent the hundreds of inquiries for performance received by Mr. Rector. However, evidence of the scope of these inquiries can be found in many of the agent folders.