Robert Sherman collection
Collection
0081-SCPA
Robert Sherman (1932-2023) was a renowned radio broadcaster, author, and educator whose noteworthy career spans from the 1950s to today. At radio station WQXR in New York, Sherman worked as the Music Director and Program Manager, and he is best known for hosting numerous programs, including "Woody's Children" and the nationally broadcast "The Listening Room." As an author, Sherman has written columns for The New York Times as well as several books about music, including those co-authored with Victor Borge. The Robert Sherman collection covers the period from 1932 to 2023; the bulk of the materials date from 1960 to 2008. The collection consists of both personal and professional papers including scripts, recordings, writings, correspondence, event programs, clippings, photographs, and awards related to Sherman's work as a broadcaster, author, and educator. Among the most significant holdings include recordings of his programs "Woody's Children," "The Listening Room," and "Young Artists Showcase," and correspondence with numerous renowned artists such as Clara Rockmore, Pete Seeger, Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, and Leopold Stokowski.
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, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Contact the curator for an appointment: http://www.lib.umd.edu/scpa/contact
60.00 Linear Feet
The Robert Sherman collection covers the period from 1932 to 2023; the bulk of the materials date from 1960 to 2008. The collection consists of both personal and professional papers including scripts, recordings, writings, correspondence, event programs, clippings, photographs, and awards related to Sherman's work as a broadcaster, author, and educator. Among the most significant holdings include recordings of his broadcasts, "Woody's Children," "The Listening Room," and "Young Artists Showcase," and correspondence with numerous renowned artists such as Clara Rockmore, Pete Seeger, Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, and Leopold Stokowski.
Robert Sherman (b. 1932 - d. June 27, 2023) began his career in broadcasting as the Music Director and Program Manager for radio station WQXR in New York. In 1969, he began hosting the popular folk music program, "Woody's Children," on WQXR, followed in 1970 by the nationally broadcast program, "The Listening Room." He then expanded to television, hosting "Vibrations" on PBS in 1972 and appearing as a commentator for CBS's "Camera Three." He continued his work at WQXR, hosting the "Young Artists Showcase" program, which began in 1978, as well as several other programs through the 2000s.
As an author, Sherman became a regular columnist for The New York Times starting in 1964 and also published several books on music. He began lecturing at New York University in 1969, the start of his active career as an educator.
In his later years, Sherman devoted much of his energy to preserving the legacy of his mother, pianist Nadia Reisenberg, and his aunt, thereminist Clara Rockmore, through memorial events, overseeing the production of biographical works, and writing program notes for their recordings. With his brother Alex Sherman, he compiled the materials for the book, Nadia Reisenberg: A Musician's Scrapbook, published in 1986 by the International Piano Archives at Maryland, home to Reisenberg's collections. Most recently, Sherman participated in the release of Clara Rockmore's Lost Theremin Album on Bridge Records in 2006.
This collection is organized into fifteen series.
The collection is a gift of Robert Sherman, which was received in multiple shipments between 2006 and 2022.
Part of the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library