Collection: James Sclater collection on Reginald Kell

James Sclater [slôdər] (b. October 24, 1943) is an American composer and was a Professor of Music at Mississippi College for forty years. In the 1990s, Sclater conducted research on famed English clarinetist, Reginald Kell. His writings on Kell were published as a series of four installments in the International Clarinet Association’s journal, The Clarinet, in 2001, titled “Reginald Kell: Clarinetist without A Country.” This collection contains the materials that Sclater collected over the course of his research on Kell, as well as multiple drafts and revisions of his biographical articles on him.

Dates

1927-2001 and undated

Use and Access to Collection

There are no restricted files in this collection. This collection is open for research use.

Duplication and Copyright Information

Materials from this collection must be used in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library's Irving and Margery Morgan Lowens Special Collections Room, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Please make an appointment with the curator: Tel: 301.405.9220, Email: scpa@umd.edu

Extent

1.00 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Scope and Content of Collection

The James Sclater collection on Reginald Kell covers the period of 1927-2001. It consists of articles, newspaper clippings, interviews, critic reviews, photographs, personal and professional correspondence, newsletters, and ephemera related to the life and career of the English clarinetist Reginald Kell. This collection also contains multiple working drafts, sketches, revisions, and handwritten notes for Sclater's "Reginald Kell: Clarinetist Without a Country," as well as scores of clarinet pieces by Holbrook and Stravinsky, artwork by Kell, cassette tapes, and a VHS.

Biographical / Historical

James Sclater [slôdər] (b. October 24, 1943) is an American composer and, until his retirement in 2010, was a Professor of Music at Mississippi College. He attended the University of Texas, Austin, where he received his D.M.A. in Composition in 1970. Sclater began his post at Mississippi College in that same year. As a composer, Sclater has written more than 125 works and is known internationally.

During the 1990s, Sclater conducted research on the English clarinetist Reginald Kell. His series of biographical articles on Kell appeared in the journal of the International Clarinet Society, The Clarinet, in four installments in 2001.

Reginald Kell (1906 – 1981) was best known as a soloist and participant in chamber music. His style of playing demonstrated new heights in the expressive capabilities of the clarinet. He was the principal clarinetist in many prominent British orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic. In 1948, Kell moved to the United States, making a name for himself through numerous concert appearances and recordings. He was also highly sought after as a teacher—among his better known pupils were Benny Goodman, Michael “Peanuts” Hucko, Alan Hacker, and Harrison Birtwistle. Kell was a professor for the Aspen Music Festival and School in the United States in the 1950s, and then took up a year-long post at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1958. He retired from performing in 1959 and returned to the U.S. where he accepted a job with Boosey & Hawkes as director of their band instrument division. Kell retired in 1966, and after losing a battle with cancer, he died in Frankfurt, Kentucky, on August 5, 1981.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into two series.

Papers
Scores and recordings

Related Materials

Available at the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library:

Kell, Reginald. The Kell Method for Clarinet: A Comprehensive Course in Three Volumes. 3 volumes. Oceanside, NY: Boosey and Hawkes. 1968. Call number: PA Lib Folio M71.3.K44 K4
Sclater, James. “Reginald Kell: Clarinetist Without a Country.” The Clarinet
Sclater, James. “Reginald Kell: Clarinetist Without a Country, Part II.” The Clarinet 28, no. 3 (June 2001): 34-39. Call number: PA Lib SCPA ML945.C7
Sclater, James. “Reginald Kell: Clarinetist Without a Country, Part III.” The Clarinet 28, no. 4 (September 2001): 58-63. Call number: PA Lib SCPA ML945.C7
Sclater, James. “Reginald Kell: Clarinetist Without a Country, Part IV.” The Clarinet 29, no. 1 (December 2001): 40-45. Call number: PA Lib SCPA ML945.C7

Related archival collections available for use at the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library:

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Administrative Information

Title: James Sclater collection on Reginald Kell
Status: Completed
Author: Samantha Flores, updated by Meghan Creek
Date: January 2018, updated February 2019
Description rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description: Undetermined
Script of description: Code for undetermined script
Language of description note: English

Library Details

Part of the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library

http://www.lib.umd.edu/mspal

Contact:
University of Maryland Libraries
8270 Alumni Drive
College Park MD 20742 United States
scpa@umd.edu

James Sclater collection on Reginald Kell

Dates

Use and Access to Collection

Duplication and Copyright Information

Extent

Additional Description

Scope and Content of Collection

Biographical / Historical

Arrangement

Related Materials

Topics

Administrative Information

Library Details

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