International Clarinet Association (ICA) records
Collection
0018-SCPA-ICA
The International Clarinet Association (ICA) was founded in 1973 and supports clarinetists of all levels through annual conferences, competitions, publications, and networking events. Initially a clinic hosted by the University of Denver, the ICA’s annual ClarinetFest conference is now its signature event, along with other significant projects such as the quarterly journal, The Clarinet. The ICA records cover the period from 1950-2010; the bulk of the materials date from 1982-2001. The records consist of publications, correspondence, conference materials and programs, official communications, photographs, fliers, audio tapes, scores, and other materials related to the history and business of the ICA, their affiliations with other clarinet societies, materials from ICA events, and individual members and board members of the ICA.
The collection is open for research use. Materials from this collection must be used in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library's Irving and Margery Morgan Lowens Special Collections Room during SCPA’s operating hours. Please contact the curator for an appointment or if you have questions related to digital access of the materials.
Copyright was not transferred to the University of Maryland with the gift of any copyrighted materials. All rights remain with the creators and rights holders. The University of Maryland Libraries is granted permission for the use in scholarly research by the Libraries’ patrons under fair use in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act.
To inquire about duplication of materials for research or for publication, please contact SCPA’s curator.
197.00 Linear Feet
The International Clarinet Association (ICA) records cover the period from 1950-2010; the bulk of the materials date from 1982-2001. The records consist of both personal and professional papers including published and unpublished writings, correspondence, programs, reports, photographs, newspaper articles, obituaries, fliers, and audio tapes. The collection is related to the history and business of the ICA, their affiliations with other clarinet societies, materials from ICA events, and those of individual members and board members of the ICA.
In 1964, University of Denver clarinet professor Ralph Strouf proposed, founded, and led the first National Clarinet Clinic with the help of clarinetists Keith Stein and Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, with the idea of having a music festival for clarinetists to network through performances, lectures, workshops, and other clarinet-related activities. A successful annual event, the festival was passed on to the next clarinet professor Ramon Kireilis, who also formed the International Clarinet Society (ICS, the predecessor of the ICA) in 1973 during the year’s clinic. The ICS focused on supporting clarinetists’ endeavors, such as establishing the Vacancy Service (clarinet job listing), The Clarinet (the clarinet journal), a clarinet research library, and clarinet competitions (performance, composition, and research). ICS/ICA also supports national and international clarinet competitions, summer clarinet festivals, Clarinet Days, clarinet organizations and other clarinet-related activities to further clarinetists’ musical endeavors.
Starting in late 1981, a competing clarinet organization called ClariNetwork International, Inc. (C.I.) rose to popularity over the decade, taking advantage of the academically-focused ICS to reach a wider audience of performing clarinetists as well as varying event locations to reach more clarinetists. The two clarinet organizations agreed to merge in 1988 and renamed International Clarinet Society/ClariNetwork International, Inc. (ICS/CI) before the organization name was changed in 1991 to its current name, International Clarinet Association (ICA).
Since its founding, the ICA has expanded internationally, holding the first clarinet conference outside of the United States in 1978 in Toronto, Ontario. This was followed by the first clarinet conference in Europe (London, England in 1981) and, subsequently, in Asia (Tokyo, Japan in 2004). Over the years, ICA slowly added international chair positions from the initial chairs of Eastern and Western Canada, Australia, Austria, England and Mexico, as clarinetists all over the world joined the organization.
The ICA launched their website (www.clarinet.org) in 1995 and social media pages and groups in 2008, boosting the organization’s profile internationally. Currently, the ICA boasts thousands of international clarinetists of all levels as members, supporting various clarinet events, performances, activities, and services to their members to foster a community of support. The ICA provides numerous services for their members, including a journal (The Clarinet), the annual clarinet festival ClarinetFest, clarinet competitions, a clarinet research library, and supporting clarinet events and other clarinet organizations all over the world.
Sources:
“Membership.” International Clarinet Association. Accessed on May 1, 2024. https://clarinet.org/about/membership/.
Stanek, Alan E. “History.” International Clarinet Association. Accessed on May 1, 2024. https://clarinet.org/history/.
Stanek, Alan E. “The Evolution of a Good Idea.” The Clarinet 40, no. 3. (June 2013): 62-76. ICA James Gillespie Library Archives.
This collection is organized into seven series:
Norman Heim, Director of Archives for the International Clarinet Society (which the ICA was then known as), led the initial transfer of materials to the University of Maryland in 1979. There have been regular subsquent accruals by the ICA and its members in the years since.
Part of the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library