Abstract The 21st Century Consort (originally 20th Century Consort) was founded in 1975 by Christopher Kendall and is made up of professional musicians from the Washington area, including members of the National Symphony Orchestra. Since 1978 the ensemble has been the resident contemporary music group at the Smithsonian Institution's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, where they present an annual concert series, often coordinating programming to complement the museum's exhibitions. The collection...

Abstract Aaron Avshalomov was born in Nikolaievsk, Siberia on October 31, 1894 to Jewish-Russian parents. His father wanted Aaron to study medicine and sent him to Switzerland for that purpose in 1913. Instead, he enrolled in the Zürich Conservatory, where, for a few months, he received his only formal training in music. After the outbreak of World War I, Avshalomov left Europe, returning to Russia and then moving on to China and the United States, where he married his first wife, Esther Magidson, in...

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Aaron “AC” Claxton (b. 1977) is a musician and business owner who was active in the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene in the early 1990s. The Aaron Claxton collection on D.C. Hardcore contains items that span the years 1992 to 1995; the bulk of the materials date from 1992 to 1993, when Claxton was a member of the hardcore band Gauge. The materials in this collection primarily consist of show fliers and photographs related to shows that Claxton performed at or attended.

Abstract Abigail Gregory Mason (1797-1889), wife of prolific hymn composer and music educator Lowell Mason, was born into one of the most influential families in the nineteenth century. After marrying Lowell Mason in Savannah, Georgia, the family moved to Boston and were highly involved in the music education efforts in the city schools. Throughout their lifetimes, Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Mason were in contact with a third prominent family, the Colgates. This collection includes two notecards and their...

Abstract A pianist, composer, pedagogue, musical director, and music writer, Abram Chasins was an active performer throughout his career. He gave many solo recitals, concerts with leading orchestras, and piano duets with his wife, Constance Keene, throughout the United States. Chasins also was a lecturer at the Curtis Institute of Music, Musician-in-Residence at the University of Southern California, and an active adjudicator. In addition, Chasins composed many pieces, including two piano concertos...

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Acton E. Ostling was a teacher, director, and composer in Endicott, New York where he directed the Union-Endicott High School Band. This collection includes correspondence, press, scores, and scrapbooks chronicling his career. Many of the materials relate to Ostling's involvement in Fife and Drum Corps.

Abstract Acton E. Ostling, Jr. (b. 30 June 1936), is an Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Louisville. From 1974 until 1995, he served as Director of Bands and the conductor of the Louisville Symphony Band, retiring from the institution in 2001. While at Louisville, he also taught undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting, as well as courses in theory, orchestration, and wind band repertoire. Earlier academic appointments included serving as Director of Bands at Iowa State...

Abstract A composer and lecturer, Ada Richter (a.k.a. Hugo Arnold, Wilma Moore, and Eileen Gail) composed many pieces throughout her career, including musical dramas, piano solos, piano and voice pieces, and arrangements of pieces by other composers. Richter also lectured both alone and with her husband, Alfred Richter throughout the world on piano instruction. Her husband was also a composer of piano pieces and writer on piano methods and is included in the collection. The collection consists of...

Abstract Adolph Weiss (1891 – 1971) was a modernist American composer, and once a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg in Vienna. Weiss also served as a professional bassoonist in a number of orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Symphony Society, the Rochester Symphony, and the Chicago Symphony. Paula Hughes was a patron of the performing arts who lived in Ojai, California. The papers contain materials that span the period of 1959 to 1971; the bulk of the...

Abstract The African Continuum Theater Company was founded in 1989 as the African Continuum Theater Coalition with the mission to assist African American community theaters in Washington DC to improve the quality and visibility of their work. The organization transitioned to a full theater company in 1995 and began producing professional-caliber plays with an African American perspective. ACTCo produced dozens of fully staged productions and hosted numerous public staged readings of new works by...