146 · Representative Documents: Finding Aids and Guides
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
American Musicological Society records
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upenn_rbml_MsColl221&%23ref8
American Musicological Society records, 1934-1992
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In addition to the memberships it held in umbrella organizations, the AMS also had
affiliations to societies with which they formed joint committees or planned joint
meetings. The College Music Society often held joint meetings with the AMS and
collaborated on such projects as the Placement Service (see also Annual Meetings
and Publications, Special Projects, Placement Service). The Music Teacher’s National
Association was a forerunner of the AMS, and for the first several years the AMS
participated jointly in the MTNA annual meeting. Karl Gehrkens of the MTNA wrote in
1937 to negotiate an affiliation between the two organizations. For a period in the
1940s the AMS offered free memberships to the winners of the Mu Phi Epsilon
award. The Music Library Association shared many members with the AMS and was
involved in many joint projects, including joint annual meetings, the translations
center, and the reprints committee. For a brief period in the 1970s the AMS worked
with the Kennedy Center to plan a series of Festival-Conferences featuring individual
composers. While the Haydn and Mozart Festivals were a success, other events were
canceled, and the project was eventually abandoned (see also Committees, Kennedy
Center, and Events). The International Research and Exchanges Board organized
Soviet-American exchanges in the 1980s. The Modern Language Association
provided the AMS with use of their computer system to process their mailing list.
Other related societies include the International Association of Music Libraries and
the Music Educator’s National Conference.
Among other correspondents are the following prominent musicologists: Karl
Geiringer, Donald Jay Grout, Charles Hamm, Glen Haydon, Daniel Heartz, George
Herzog, Lloyd Hibberd, Joseph Kerman, Otto Kinkeldey, Jan La Rue, Alfred Mann,
Dayton Miller, Hans Nathan, Otto Ortmann, Carl Parrish, Nino Pirrotta, Curt Sachs,
Egon Wellesz, Anselm Hughes, and Eric Werner. Erich Hertzmann wrote personal
letters to Oliver Strunk and his wife over several decades. In 1974 Paul Pisk wrote
to communicate his intention of leaving $20,000 to the AMS in his will. As a result
of its early connection with New York City, the AMS has reason to correspond with
the New York Public Library, where they frequently held board meetings and later
stored their records. The law firm of Rodwin &Rodwin provided legal advice for the
AMS, especially in their publications contracts and constitution.
Board and Council Correspondence
Sometimes called Members at Large, Executive Committee, Executive Board, or
Board of Directors, this group included the officers of the society and four elected
representatives (six in the earlier years). Each board member served two years, with
staggered terms. The correspondence of the Board generally reflects the debates
and discussions of the administration over the years. Often this includes circular
letters soliciting opinions of board members, or even ballots requiring a vote. Council
Correspondence includes only circular letters to the council members letters from
the Council are filed under the member’s name in general correspondence. Names of
Officers, Board, and Council Members can be found in Administrative Records, List of
Officers.
Other Correspondence includes Inquiries and Solicitations, which consists of form
letters, requests for address lists, and requests for information. Invitations are
primarily for inaugural events, to which the AMS was expected to send a
representative.
Correspondence filed elsewhere in the collection includes: letters from members
relating simply to issues of membership (Membership) correspondence among
committee members, or between committees and outside organizations
(Committees) correspondence among the publications committee, between editors
and the officers, and between the publications committee and authors and
publishers (Publications) correspondence among arrangements committees, or
between arrangements committees and hotels, insurance brokers, exhibitioners, etc.
(Annual Meetings) correspondence between chapter officers and the Society
(Chapters).
Minutes
The decision-making of the Society is made primarily by the Board, at their Biannual
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