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Edward Bailey Birge papers

 Collection 0050-SCPA
Edward Bailey Birge was born in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1868 and died in Bloomington, Indiana on July 16, 1952. Birge was a founding member and later president of the Music Supervisors National Conference. The Edward Bailey Birge papers covers the period from 1890-1952; the bulk of the material dates from 1900-1965. The collection consists published articles about Birge, published and non-published writings and music by Birge, personal and professional correspondence, documents regarding Birge's book The History of Public School Music in the United States (1928), individual and seasonal programs featuring Birge as organist, director, and conductor, signed agreements and royalty statements with Silver Burdett Company, obituaries, honors and certificates, news clippings, and photographs.

Dates

  • 1890-1966
  • Majority of material found within 1900-1952

Use and Access to Collection

There are no restricted files in this collection.

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. Contact the curator for an appointment: http://www.lib.umd.edu/scpa/contact
Copyright was not transferred to the University of Maryland with the physical gift of the collection. Aside from those items in public domain, Brige’s estate or publishers retain any copyright possessed in the collection. Patrons may use the materials for scholarly research as stipulated under fair use in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Scope and Contents

The Edward Bailey Birge Papers covers the period from 1890-1965; the bulk of the material dates from 1900-1952. The collection consists published articles about Birge, published and non-published writings and music by Birge, personal and professional correspondence, documents regarding Birge's book The History of Public School Music in the United States (1928), individual and seasonal programs featuring Birge as organist, director, and conductor, signed agreements and royalty statements with Silver Burdett Company, obituaries, honors and certificates, news clippings, and photographs, including one of Birge at the organ.

Biography

Edward Bailey Birge (1868-1952), a founding member and later president of the Music Supervisors National Conference, was born in Northampton, Massachusetts. He received his formal education at the Classical School in Providence, Rhode Island. Upon receiving his Bachelor’s in Arts at Brown University, he became Supervisor of Music in the public schools of Easthampton, Massachusetts in 1891. Holding this post for five years, he then became Director of Music in the New Haven, Connecticut State Normal School and later became the Director of Music in the New Britain, Connecticut State Normal School. While completing a Bachelor’s of Music degree in 1904 at Yale University, he also became Supervisor of Music in Indianapolis, Indiana Public Schools, a position he held from 1901 to 1921. During that time he took an active leadership role in the local music education community serving as president of the Indiana Music Teachers Association. In addition to becoming a professor of music at Indiana University from 1921 to 1938, he was also the co-author of several widely-used series of music textbooks for public schools.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into eleven series.
  1. Writings
  2. Correspondence
  3. History of Public School Music
  4. Business Documents
  5. Programs
  6. Honors and Organization Certificates
  7. Obituaries
  8. Clippings
  9. Photographs
  10. Music Compositions
  11. Yearbook

Custodial History and Acquisition Information

Robert C. Lewis, Birge’s nephew, donated the materials in July 1984. Additional materials were received from Doris Rogers of MENC in May 1998. Additional materials were received in July 2004 by Robert C. Lewis and are included in Series X and XI.

Related Material

This collection is part of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Historical Center, Special Collections in Performing Arts, University of Maryland.

For other related archival and manuscript collections, please see the following subject guides.

Administrative Information

Title
Edward Bailey Birge papers
Status
Completed
Author
Stephanie Keller, June 2001; revised by Lori Fowser, August 2004; Cassandra N. Berman, April 2011; and John Davis, 2018.
Date
June 2001; updated August 2004 and 2018
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Library Details

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

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