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Concert Society at Maryland records

 Collection 0121-SCPA
The Concert Society at Maryland, originally founded in 1976 as the University Community Concerts, was a chamber music concert series focusing on bringing professional concerts to the Maryland suburbs. Changing its name in 1991, the organization played a vital role in the community with its concerts, seminars, and community outreach programs. The collection consists of correspondence, budget materials, ticket sales, patron/donor information, marketing/publicity materials, recordings, seasonal publications, and programs related to performances produced by the CSM featuring artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, Isaac Stern, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Airmen of Note, and the Cleveland Quartet among many others.

Dates

  • 1976-2004
  • Majority of material found within 1985-1996

Use and Access to Collection

There are some restricted files in this collection. Please consult with the curator for more 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; Wednesday, 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. Please contact the curator at 301.405.9220 or 301.314.7614 to set up an appointment or go to http://www.lib.umd.edu/scpa/contact.

Duplication and Copyright Information

Copyright was not transferred with the donation of the materials; all rights remain with the creators and rights holders. Please contact the curator for more information about duplication policies.

Extent

78.75 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Scope and Content of Collection

The Concert Society at Maryland records cover the period from 1976 to 2004; the bulk of the materials date from 1985 to 1996. The records consist of correspondence, budget materials, ticket sales, patron/donor information, marketing/publicity materials, recordings, seasonal publications, and programs related to performances produced by the CSM featuring artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, Isaac Stern, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Airmen of Note, and the Cleveland Quartet, among many others.

Administrative History

In 1976, Eva Hornyak made it her mission to create a regular chamber music concert series for the growing community at and around the University of Maryland in College Park. The opening of the Kennedy Center in 1971 encouraged the growth of classical music concerts in the Washington, D.C. area and Hornyak turned to Martin Feinstein, then-Executive Director of the Kennedy Center, for advice. The first University Community Concerts (UCC) season saw six concerts at the auditorium in the University of Maryland University College Center for Adult Education (now the Inn and Conference Center). The opening performance, which was given on November 7, 1976 by violinist Jaime Laredo and pianist Claude Frank, seemed to emphasize both the scarcity of and hunger for professional concerts in the Maryland suburbs. Feinstein had warned Hornyak to be prepared to lose money the first season but, with ticket sales and grants, the UCC finished its first season 52 cents in the black and with almost a doubling of subscriptions for the next season.

The following seasons were forecasts of future musical distinction and saw performances by artists such as the Guarneri String Quartet, the young piano and cello duet of Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma, and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. As the UCC grew, so did its quest for funds. The UCC sought funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, the Maryland Arts Council, local businesses, individual donors, and benefit concerts. The first of several benefit concerts was given in November of 1978 by Hornyak’s brother, violinist Isaac Stern. In 1980, the UCC board guided the development of a support group, the UCC Guild, and increased the membership of its board, adding the philanthropist David Lloyd Kreeger.

The UCC experimented with many different concert series over the years, such as a Young Artist Series that became a New Artist Series; the Olde Musicke Series; a Student Sampler Series; the Keyboard Series; the Great American Songwriters Series; and the WorldSong Series. The most popular and lasting of these were the Olde Musicke Series, started in 1982, and the WorldSong Series, which started in 1988.

Continuing to look toward the future, the UCC changed its name in 1991 to The Concert Society at Maryland, enlarged its board membership, and established the Carmen and David Lloyd Kreeger Fund for Emerging Artists and Composers. Attempts to attract patrons continued with performances in unconventional concert locations and, also, through outreach activities. In December 1993, the CSM was awarded a certificate of recognition for its generosity in donating tickets for cultural events by the Prince George’s County Public Schools Board of Education.

By 1997, the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (CSPAC) was under construction at the University and the CSM hoped to be a part of that center in the twenty-first century. By 2001, CSM’s programming efforts had been absorbed into CSPAC, and CSM ceased to exist as an entity at the University of Maryland.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into 10 series:
  1. Performing Artists
  2. Non-performing Artists
  3. Executive Directors
  4. Board of Directors
  5. Financial
  6. Guild
  7. Artwork
  8. Press
  9. Oral Histories
  10. Audiovisual Materials

Custodial History and Acquisition Information

Transferred by the Concert Society at Maryland and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center management in increments between 1997 and 2009.

Processing Information

Processed in 2000 – 2009 by Ruth Harris; June 2010 by David Brenneman; June 2011 by Amanda Weeks; December 2012 by Amanda May; November 2014-July 2015 by Wendy Bargstadt

Administrative Information

Title
Concert Society at Maryland records
Status
Completed
Author
Ruth Harris, David Brenneman, Amanda Weeks, Amanda May, and Wendy Bargstadt
Date
2000 through 2015
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

Revision Statements

  • 2012-12-10: EAD validated using Oxygen software by Amanda May, December 2012.

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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Special Collections and University Archives

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Hornbake Library
4130 Campus Drive
University of Maryland,
College Park, MD 20742

301-405-9212
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Special Collections in Performing Arts
International Piano Archives at Maryland

Lowens Room
Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library
8270 Alumni Drive
College Park, MD 20742

301-405-9217
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