A project proposal submitted by Oriol Sans, Director of Orchestral Activities and Assistant Professor in Orchestral Conducting, and Cat Richmond, Music Ensemble Librarian, has been funded by the Library Collections Enhancement Initiative. Jeanette Casey, Head of Mills Music Library, also provided support for the proposal.
The Library Collections Enhancement Initiative is a program to strengthen campus research capacities by providing UW–Madison libraries with flexibility to address critical and emerging collections needs.
The UW–Orchestral Library, housed in the School of Music, is a crucial tool for creative research for conducting faculty, graduate students in orchestral conducting, and students in the orchestral ensembles at UW–Madison. These performing bodies include the UW–Madison Symphony Orchestra, the All-University Strings ensemble, and the Medical Sciences Orchestra. This library serves these various stakeholders on a regular basis by providing essential performance materials for research and study, as well as music for each programmed concert.
This project augments the Library holdings with current editions of recently published full orchestral scores and parts. These publications are informed by recent musicological research, and will improve the scholarly commitment to both students and faculty. With these contemporary editions, students will be exposed to the most informed canonical standards of orchestral music and performance practice.
Additionally, providing newly researched and edited repertoire of historically under-represented composers and modern composers will encourage a broadened understanding of diverse musical practices, and pedagogical initiatives, while further aligning the Orchestral Library with the School of Music’s objective to expand musical boundaries.
Finally, widening the music catalog to include orchestral music scores and performance materials in recently developed and genre-bending fields, such as dance music, opera, and film music, will further UW–Madison’s commitment to innovation and foster engagement with a broader audience.
The Library Collections Enhancement Initiative is supported by the OVCR with support from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).
