Agency History/Biographical note:
During the first fifty years of the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, choral singing was required of all students. The first trained and permanent music teacher, Eliza Wilder, came to the Seminary in 1862. The music program at this time was limited to vocal instruction, although a piano was available for the students to use on their own. Beginning in 1862, private instruction in voice was offerred for those who desired it. In 1875, a new music teacher, Miss Steele, came to the Seminary. Another teacher was added in 1879. In 1882, the first music building was established in the Old Dwight Homestead. In the 1890/1891 academic year, credit was first given for music study at Mount Holyoke College. The Music Department was established for the 1891/1892 academic year, and was devoted to the study of music as an art and a science. Instrumental instruction at this time included lessons in organ, piano, voice, violin,and violoncello, and the Department offerred lessons in harmony and theory. In the 1935/1936 academic year, a major in Music was first offerred, and the Class of 1939 was the first to include Music majors. Since its founding, the Music Department has offerred frequent recitals, public concerts, and lectures on musical subjects.

Scope and Content:
The Mount Holyoke College Music Department Records contain volumes of sheet music; historical sketches; booklets; articles; lists; scholarship applications; outlines; brochures; notes; flyers; tickets; schedules; posters; press releases; advertisements; invitations; a seating plan; reports; some correspondence; examinations; programs; publications; financial records; photographs; and a videocassette. The records include information about the Arts and Music Programs at Mount Holyoke and the Five Colleges, including music clubs and choirs. The records also contain an article regarding the relationship of music study to war service written during World War II. The advertising materials, including flyers, posters, programs, invitations, and tickets, found in the records pertain to performances, lectures, concerts, recitals, and rehearsals dating from 1869. The seating plan is for Chapin Auditorium in Mary Woolley Hall and it includes a list of  ticket prices. Information relating to guest artists can be found in the records, including lists of visiting artists and advertisements for their performances and lectures. The annual reports of the department to the President of the College, beginning in 1933/1934, are held in the records, and these reports include information about concerts, recitals, and lectures; various choirs; faculty activities; changes in personnel; gifts received by the Department; student activities; major students and honor students; performances; needs of the Department; and course enrollment. The records contain little correspondence. The correspondence is limited to letters to and from faculty, staff, students, and alumnae regarding department events. Course records include examinations from various courses in the Music Department. The Valley Music Press publications are included in the records in addition to information regarding the Arts in Performance Program at the College. Audio-visual materials found in the records include photographs of faculty, staff, and students in classroom scenes and various other settings, Mount Holyoke Choirs, and guest performers and visting artists, and a videocassette of a 1992 Mount Holyoke Choir performance.

Cite as: Music Department Records, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley, MA.

Access Restrictions: Records restricted to use by office/department of origin for 25 years from date of record creation.

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