Descriptive Summary
Access
Access Restrictions
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Accruals
Processing Information
Biography / Administrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Bibliography
Descriptive Summary
Title: William Duncan Allen papers
Dates: 1975-1994
Bulk Dates: 1975-1977
Collection number: MS 70
Creator:
Allen, William Duncan.
Collection Size:
1.5 linear feet
(1 oversized box)
Repository:
African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Abstract: The William Duncan Allen papers include photographs, certificates, plaques, and a diploma documenting the life and career
of concert pianist, teacher, and music critic William Duncan Allen. The bulk of the papers consist of 288 photographs of Allen's
music colleagues and friends at receptions in the Bay Area and while traveling in Europe in 1975-1977.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.
Access Restrictions
Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.
Publication Rights
Permission to publish from the William Duncan Allen Papers must be obtained from the African American Museum and Library at
Oakland.
Preferred Citation
William Allen Duncan papers , MS 70, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.
Accruals
Accession 2013-062 added on October 1, 2013.
Processing Information
Processed by Sean Heyliger, 10/01/2013.
Biography / Administrative History
Pianist, teacher, and music critic William Duncan Allen Jr. (1906-1999) was born on December 15, 1906 in Portland, Oregon
the oldest son of William Duncan Allen Sr. and Lillian Medley. Allen was raised in Portland, Oregon, where his father owned
and operated the Golden West Hotel, at the time the largest black-owned hotel on the West Coast. After graduating from Portland’s
Jefferson High School, he attended Oberlin College in Ohio earning bachelor and master’s degrees in music in 1928 and 1936
before studying one year at the Julliard School of Music.
In 1929, Allen accepted a position teaching music and piano at Howard University until 1935 when he returned to Oberlin College
to continue his studies. After studying with Dutch pianist Egon Petri in Poland in the 1930s, Allen returned to teach music
at Fisk University in Nashville until 1943. Beginning in 1944, Allen accompanied tenor Todd Duncan on a world tour playing
at venues in the U.S., Australia, South America, and Europe. Allen continued to tour with Duncan until 1953 when he moved
to San Francisco where he worked as an accompanist, music teacher, and music critic. He served as the minister of music at
the South Berkeley Community Church, director of the Berkeley Junior Bach Festival, and music critic for the
San Francisco Sun-Reporter and the
Oakland Post.
Allen was a visiting professor and artist in residence at Talladega College for the 1981-1982 academic year and was awarded
an honorary doctorate of music in 1978 from the Center for Urban-Black Studies.
Scope and Content of Collection
The William Duncan Allen papers include photographs, certificates, plaques, and a diploma documenting the life and career
of concert pianist, teacher, and music critic William Duncan Allen. The bulk of the papers consist of 288 photographs documenting
Allen's music colleagues and friends at receptions in the Bay Area and while traveling in Europe in 1975-1977. The photographs
include several notable musicians and vocalists including George Shirley, William Parker, Peter Van Derick, and William Warfield.
The papers also include a small assorted of certificates and plaques awarded to William Duncan Allen for his musical contributions
as a teacher, performer, and critic.
Arrangement
Series I. Photograph album
Series II. Biographical
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Allen, William Duncan.
African Americans--California--East Bay--History.
African American musicians--California.
William Duncan Allen, Teacher, Pianist, and Accompanist to Concert Artists, an oral history conducted in 1995 by Caroline
Crawford, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1996.