Collection: Harold Brown Collection

Harold Brown was a composer and violist/violinist born in New York in 1909. He attended Columbia College where he studied Composition and Conducting under many notable pedagogues including Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Bernard Wagenaar, and Leon Barzin. He also studied with Nadia Boulanger at Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris as part of the Mosenthal Fellowship. Brown became a well-loved teacher at both the high school and college level. He taught many things including Composition, Orchestration, Music Theory, and Chorus as well as working as a freelance string player. This collection contains a selection of his compositions for Choir, Orchestra, String Orchestra, Chamber Ensembles, and Piano.

Dates

1935-1952
Majority of material found within 1935-1952

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. Please make an appointment with the curator: Vincent J. Novara Tel: 301.405.9220, Email: vnovara@umd.edu

Extent

2.00 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Scope and Content of Collection

The Harold Brown collection contains a selection of his compositions for many different ensemble types spanning from 1935 to 1952. There are pieces for Chorus, Orchestra, String Orchestra, Chamber Ensembles, and Solo Piano including a piano reduction made by Brown of a Friscobaldi Orchestral Fugue.

Biography

Harold Brown (October 31, 1909-September 26, 1979) was a composer and violist/violinist born in New York. He attended Columbia College where he studied Composition and Conducting under many notable pedagogues including Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Bernard Wagenaar, and Leon Barzin. He also studied with Nadia Boulanger at Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris as part of the Mosenthal Fellowship. Brown became a well-loved teacher at both the high school and college level. He taught many things including Composition, Orchestration, Music Theory, and Chorus as well as working as a freelance string player.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into four series.

Series 1: Orchestral Music
Series 2: Piano Music
Series 3: Chamber Music
Series 4: Choral Music

Custodial History and Acquisition Information

The Harold Brown collection was given to the American Composers Alliance at the University of Maryland by Sig Rosen. The collection has since been separated from the ACA into its own collection at UMD SCPA by Sig Rosen.

Related Material

The American Composers Alliance Archives and Score Collection are available for research at Special Collections in Performing Arts.

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