Contemporary Music Project records
Collection
0046-SCPA
The Contemporary Music Project (CMP) spanned a fourteen-year period from 1959 to 1973. Originally named the The Young Composers Project (YCP), the CMP consisted of three programs: Professionals-in-Residence to Communities, the Teaching of Comprehensive Musicianship, and Complementary Activities. The CMP records consist of approximately twenty-five linear feet of documents; scores donated by the young composers, taped performances of CMP compositions, video tapes of the Eastman workshops; the recording "Comprehensive Musicianship Training" and the film "What is Music"; microfilm used by University Microfilms to produce the CMP Library, and the CMP Library itself. The records have been housed in the MENC Historical Center at the University of Maryland since the conclusion of the project in June 1973. A browsable listing of scores in the collection can be found at the SCPA Scores Database. The processing of this collection was supported by the Rose Marie Grentzer Fund.
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.
25.00 Linear Feet
The Contemporary Music Project records cover the period from 1959 until 2003; the bulk of materials date from 1964-1973. The records consist of administrative documents for the project, composer biographies, workshop information, scores written for the project, recordings of performances, video tapes, publications, the recording "Comprehensive Musicianship Training," and the film, "What is Music?" All materials are related to the Music Educators National Conference's program entitled "The Contemporary Music Project."
The Contemporary Music Project (CMP) spanned a fourteen-year period from 1959 to 1973. The Young Composers Project (YCP), the result of a proposal made by Norman Dello Joio in 1957, marked its genesis. Initiated in 1959, the project was funded by the Ford Foundation and administered by the National Music Council. Mr. Dello Joio served as director and chairman of the Project Policy Committee.
In 1962, the YCP was elevated in status from a pilot program to one of the ten major programs of the Ford Foundation. In 1964, the YCP became the Contemporary Music Project for Creativity in Music Education (CMP). Under this new title, the project was expanded to include seminars and workshops at major universities focusing on the teaching of comprehensive musicianship, and pilot projects focused on the musical creativity of young students. Music Educators National Conference (MENC) (now the National Association for Music Education (NAfME)) supplemented a continuing grant from the Ford Foundation and administered such Project activities as the CMP Library and the founding of Institutes for Creativity in Music Education. The Project also awarded grants to university teachers to develop comprehensive musicianship curricula.
In 1968, the Ford Foundation gave MENC a grant to administer the CMP for an additional five years. From 1968 to 1973, the CMP consisted of three programs: Professionals-in-Residence to Communities (formerly YCP), the Teaching of Comprehensive Musicianship, and Complementary Activities. The dual function of sponsoring musicians and the teaching of musicianship was continued by CMP until its termination in 1973.
The CMP Archives consists of approximately twenty-five linear feet of documents; scores donated by the young composers, taped performances of CMP compositions, video tapes of the Eastman workshops; the recording "Comprehensive Musicianship Training" and the film, "What is Music"; microfilm used by University Microfilms to produce the CMP Library, and the CMP Library itself. The Archives have been housed in the NAfME Historical Center at the University of Maryland since the conclusion of the project in June 1973.
This collection is organized into eight series:
The collection was gifted to the MENC Historical Center at the University of Maryland by the Music Educators National Conference upon the conclusion of the project in June 1973.
Processing supported by the Rose Marie Grentzer Fund.
Part of the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library