Guide to the Ernest T. Kretschmer Archive, 1927-
Processed by UCSC OAC Unit.
The University Library
Special Collections and Archives
University Library
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California, 95064
Email: specoll@library.ucsc.edu
URL: http://library.ucsc.edu/speccoll/
© 1999
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Note
Arts and Humanities--Music
Guide to the Ernest T. Kretschmer Archive, 1927-
Collection number: MS 93
The University Library
Special Collections
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
Contact Information:
- Special Collections and Archives
- University Library
- University of California, Santa Cruz
- Santa Cruz, California, 95064
- Email: specoll@library.ucsc.edu
- URL: http://library.ucsc.edu/speccoll/
- Processed by:
- UCSC OAC Unit.
- Date Completed:
- October 1999
- Encoded by:
- UCSC OAC Unit
© 1999 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
This file last updated: June 2003
Descriptive Summary
Title: Ernest T. Kretschmer Archive,
Date (bulk): 1927-
Collection number: MS 93
Creator:
Kretschmer, Ernest T.
Extent:
10 boxes
10.5 linear ft.
Repository:
University of California, Santa Cruz.
University Library, Special Collections & Archives
Santa Cruz, California 95064
Abstract: This collection includes programs, posters, and ephemera related to the Cabrillo Music Festival, Santa Cruz Symphony, Cultural
Council of Santa Cruz, the Crown College Concerts at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Watsonville Concert Association,
Barati Ensemble, and Santa Cruz County Arts Commission, as well as material dealing with the proposed Wingspread performing
arts complex. Also includes personal correspondence from composers, conductors, and soloists; music organization documents;
and personal items related to Mr. Kretschmer's school, college, and military years.
Physical location: Collection stored offsite at NRLF: Advance notice is required for access to the papers.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For permission to publish or to reproduce, please contact the Special Collections & Archives Librarian.
Preferred Citation
Ernest T. Kretschmer Archive, 1927- , MS 93, Special Collections & Archives, University Library, University of California,
Santa Cruz.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Ernest T. Kretschmer.
Biography
Ernest T. "Bud" Kretschmer is a philanthropist and civic leader particularly prominent in the support of classical
music organizations in Santa Cruz County, California. He was born and raised in Saginaw,
Michigan, and studied the piano throughout his youth and during his first two years of
college. After receiving an associate of fine arts degree in 1935 from Aquinas College
in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mr. Kretschmer continued his education at Michigan State
University in East Lansing, where he earned an A.B. degree in business in 1938.
After his graduation, he operated a wholesale frozen-food business until 1941, when he
enlisted in the U.S. Army. That same year he met his wife-to-be Jean while attending an
Army Medical Technician's course. For the next four years he served with hospital units
in Iceland and in the New Hebrides. He and Jean were married in Salinas, California in
1942, in between his overseas assignments. Having advanced to the rank of captain by
1945, Mr. Kretschmer then left the Army to join his brother in the family's wheat germ
business back in Michigan.
Two years later, at the Army's request, Mr. Kretschmer rejoined and, after the U.S. Air
Force was established as a separate branch of the military, he requested to be
transferred there in 1949. While in the Air Force, he attended the Graduate School of
Business at Columbia University, earning an M.S. degree in 1951, and served with the
Armed Services Medical Procurement Agency in Brooklyn, the Surgeon General's Office in
Washington, D.C., and the Alaskan Air Command in Anchorage. In 1959, he was assigned to
administer the Beale Air Force Hospital in Marysville, California, a post he held until
his retirement at the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1962.
Immediately following retirement from the military, Mr. Kretschmer moved to Santa Cruz,
and for the next two decades operated nursing homes in central and southern California.
He also became actively involved in the cultural, and particularly the musical affairs
of the community. A list of the arts organizations he has been affiliated with in
executive capacities or as a board of directors member would include: the Cabrillo Music
Festival, the Santa Cruz County Symphony, the Watsonville/Pajaro Valley Concert
Association, the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County, the Santa Cruz County Arts
Commission, UCSC's Crown Chamber Players, and the Barati Ensemble.
Mr. Kretschmer has a particular love of music for the piano, and is known for having
established permanent music scholarships, subsidizing many concert presentations and
performances, facilitating the appearances of many pianists, and working unceasingly to
enrich the musical lives of both the Santa Cruz and Grand Rapids, Michigan, area
communities.
Scope and Content
The collection includes personal items related to Mr. Kretschmer's school, college and military years. Also included are materials
related to Mr. Kretschmer's interest in music and its performance, especially for the piano, musicians, and composers, both
locally and in his home state of Michigan. Highlights include material related to his involvement with the Cabrillo Music
Festival, the Santa Cruz Symphony, UCSC's Crown College Chamber Players, the Henry J. Mello Center in Watsonville, the Barati
Ensemble, and the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Kretschmer, Ernest T. ,1914-
Barati, George, 1913-
Musical Groups--California--Santa Cruz County.
Other Indexed Terms related to this collection.
Harrison, Lou, 1917-
Masselos, William
Lorenz, Philip
Wingspread Beach
Related Archives
- Cabrillo Music Festival, MS 64
- George Barati Archive, MS 94
- Lou Harrison Archive, MS 132
Related Works
Series 1.
Biographical, 1914-2001
Physical Description:
Boxes 1:1-2:9
Scope and Content Note
This series contains biographical material concerning Mr. Kretschmer and his family. Additional biographical material can
be found in Realia and the Oversize series.
Arrangement
The material is arranged chronologically.
Box-folder 1:3
Miscellaneous awards, 1984-2002
Box-folder 1:4
UCSC & Community celebration honoring Kretschmer, 1992
Box-folder 1:5
UCSC Kretschmer Plaza, Music Center dedication, 1997
Box-folder 1:6-8
Programs & playbills collected by Kretschmer, 1939-1984
Box-folder 1:6
Miscellaneous collection, 1939-1984
Box-folder 1:7
Souvenir Programs, 1936-1940
Box-folder 1:8
Scrapbook pages with programs, 1927-1935
Box-folder 2:1
Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall Programs, 1978-1980
Box-folder 2:2
NYC Ballet, Playbill Programs, 1979-1980
Box-folder 2:3
Chamber Music Festival, 9th season, 1981
Box-folder 2:4
Opera, 25th Anniversary season, 1981
Box-folder 2:5-6
Music Festival at Sea, 1981-83
Box-folder 2:5
[22nd?] Festival programs, 1981-82
Box-folder 2:6
23rd Festival programs, 1982-83
Box-folder 2:7
Aspen Music Festival & misc. programs, 1981-84
Box-folder 2:9
San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival programs, 1984
Series 2.
Correspondence, 1941, 1951-1998
Physical Description:
Box 2:10-11
Scope and Content Note
This series contains correspondence mainly by Mr. Kretschmer and his family, military, business, and sponsorship associates.
Arrangement
The material is arranged chronologically.
Box-folder 2:10
General Correspondence, 1941, 1951-1998
Box-folder 2:11
80th Birthday correspondence, 1994
Series 3.
Activities, 1935-2001
Physical Description:
Boxes 3:1-4:3
Scope and Content Note
This series contains information about Mr. Kretschmer activities in the health care industry, the music industry and his participation
with musicians, composers and soloists, and the proposed Wingspread Performing Arts Project.
Arrangement
The material is arranged by subject.
Box-folder 3:1
Citizens for Better Nursing Home Care/ Advocate [Successor]
Box-folder 3:2
California Association of Health Facilities
Box-folder 3:3
Pajaro Valley Concert Assoc., n.d.
Box-folder 3:4
Santa Cruz County Symphony, 1973-1991
Box-folder 3:5
Santa Cruz Holy Cross Pipe Organ committee, 1985-87
Box-folder 3:6
Cabrillo Music Festival, 1967, 1982
Box-folder 3:7-13
UCSC Crown Chamber Players "Circle of Friends" support group
Box-folder 3:7
UC Policies for support groups, 1987-88
Box-folder 3:8
"Circle of Friends" Support group by-laws, etc., 1986
Box-folder 3:9
"Circle of Friends" Support group correspondence, 1986-89
Box-folder 3:10-13
"Circle of Friends" Support group budgets
Box-folder 3:15
Cabrillo College "Distinguished Artist" concert & lecture series &
"Kretschmer Keyboard Series", 1988-95
Box-folder 3:16
UC Foundation, Music Center, 1995-97
Box-folder 3:19
Philip Lorenz & Sally Christian, 1981-82
Box-folder 4:4-8
Wingspread (Performing Arts) Project
Box-folder 4:5
"The Friends of Porter Sesnon" opposition, 1985
Box-folder 4:7
"Pros & Cons" - Speeches & Testimony, 1984-86
Box-folder 4:8
Clippings, n.d., 1973-1986
Box-folder 4:9-13
Wingspread Beach Foundation
Box-folder 4:10
Minutes, agendas, notes, 1983-85
Box-folder 4:11
Hare, Brewer & Kelley Inc., 1983-84
Box-folder 4:12
Crosby, Thornton, Marshall Assoc., 1983
Box-folder 4:13
Environmental impact reports, 1982-83
Box-folder 4:14-16
Wingspread Arts Foundation
Box-folder 4:14
By-Laws, agreements (drafts),[1983]
Box-folder 4:15
Minutes, notes, corres., n.d. 1983-84
Box-folder 4:16
Minutes, notes, corres., 1985-86
Series 4.
Philanthropy, 1964-2001
Physical Description:
Box 5:1-11
Scope and Content Note
This series contains materials pertaining to Mr. Kretschmer's support of the performing arts, composers, and musicians through
the establishment of scholarships, the funding of concert series, donation of instruments, etc.
Arrangement
The material is arranged geographically.
Box-folder 5:1
Information about Aquinas College
Box-folder 5:2
Board of Trustees, 1981-84
Box-folder 5:3
Catholic Junior College Reunion, 1983
Box-folder 5:4
Festival/Reunion, 1981-82
Box-folder 5:5
Alumni Meeting in San Francisco, 1983
Box-folder 5:6
Percussion Group, 1985-91
Box-folder 5:7
Art & Music Center, 1983-85
Box-folder 5:9
Kretschmer Recital Hall, 1984
Box-folder 5:10
Knabe Piano Donation, 1977-81
Box-folder 6:3
Steinway Piano donation, 1998
Box-folder 6:5
Steinway and Knabe Piano donations
Box-folder 6:6
Henry J. Mello Center Steinway Piano Donation
Series 5.
Realia, 1973-2001
Physical Description:
Box 7
Scope and Content Note
This series contains the realia.
Arrangement
The material is arranged by size.
Box-folder 7
Engraved notepad holder, Barati Piano Concert, 1973
Box-folder 7
4 T-shirts, Cabillo Music Festival
Box-folder 7
Cabrillo Colege Computer Technology Center
Box-folder 7
Saginaw Catholic Schools Hall of Fame, 1991
Box-folder 7
Cabrillo Music Festival Life Membership
Box-folder 7
American College of Nursing Homes Administrators, 1/1/64
Box-folder 7
1 video tape recorded at Cabrillo College Theater - Barbara Nissman benefit piano concert to establish Kretschmer Endowment
Scholarship Fund, 9/19/92
Series 6.
Oversize, 1935-2001
Physical Description:
Boxes 8-9
Scope and Content Note
This series contains the oversize material including scrapbook pages, playbills, autographed posters and newspaper articles.
Arrangement
The material is arranged by size.
Box-folder 8:1
"B.U.D." score by George Barati
Box-folder 8:2
Scrapbook pages of programs, 1936-37
Box-folder 8:3
Scrapbook pages "Chicago", 1935-36
Box-folder 9:1
Clippings about La Manzana Complex in Watsonville, and miscellaneous subjects
Box-folder 9:3
Member Laureate of Santa Cruz County Symphony Assoc., 1983
Box-folder 9:3
Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, "Bud Kretschmer Day", July 31, 1992
Box-folder 9:4
Aquinas College: A Weekend of Music & Celebration poster, 1981
Box-folder 9:5
Catholic Junior College 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert Thank You, 1981
Box-folder 9:6
Cabrillo Music Festival - autographed posters, 1978, 1986, 1988, 1990-1995, 1998, n.d.
Box-folder 9:7
Sketch "Living Room" by Peter Chablis, 1985
Box-folder 9:8
Catholic Junior College 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert scrapbook
Box-folder 9:8
Remounted scrapbook pages
Series 7.
Photographs, 1935-2001
Physical Description:
Box 10
Scope and Content Note
This series contains photographs.
Arrangement
The material is arranged by size.
