Conditions Governing Access
Availability of Digital Reproductions
Arrangement
Biographical Note
Preferred Citation
Related Materials
Sacred Music Collection
Scope and Contents
Separated Materials
Conditions Governing Use
Contributing Institution:
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
Title: Don Lee White Collection
Creator:
White, Don Lee, -2010
Identifier/Call Number: SPC.1900.029
Physical Description:
39 boxes
Physical Description:
1 folder
(1 oversize folder)
Physical Description:
31.51 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1772-2010
Date (bulk): 1980-2010
Abstract: This collection contains the papers, photographs, videos, and musical recordings related to organist, conductor, and musicologist
Dr. Don Lee White. The collection documents African-American church music, church history, and the evolution of spiritual
music in African-American churches. It also includes several compilations of hymns along with audio and video recordings of
church and classical performances.
Language of Material:
English
, German
, Italian
.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Availability of Digital Reproductions
If you would like to view some of the archival materials from this collection that have been digitized already, please visit
the Sacred Music Digital Collections Database site:
Don Lee White Collection .
Please keep in mind that some of the materials in our archival collections are still in the process of being digitized and
are therefore not yet available to the public.
Arrangement
Don Lee White Collection Series Titles
- Personal Papers, Scrapbooks, and Books, 1946-2009
- Churches, 1772-2010
- Music, 1967-2010
- Musicians and Composers, 1890-2010
- Church organs and Organists, 1900-2009
- African American History and Culture, 1922-2010
- Programs, 1944-2010
- Photographs, 1924-2010
- Media, 1946-2010
Biographical Note
Don Lee White was born in Los Angeles, CA, on October 25, 1926 and attended both Los Angeles City College and California State
University, Los Angeles before earning his Master's degree in Music in 1958 from the University of Southern California (USC)
where he majored in Church Music. White completed some graduate work towards his doctorate in Musical Arts at both USC and
Stanford University, and was given an honorary doctorate in 1984 by the University of Monrovia, West Africa. In his early
career, White was a professor of music and the college organist at Prairie View A and M University in Texas for five years.
Upon his return to Los Angeles he taught organ, piano, choral music, conducting and music appreciation at California State
University, Los Angeles for 27 years. White also served as the organist and musical director of the Grant African Methodist
Church, Los Angeles, for over 38 years. Under his leadership, the Grant A.M.E. adult choir achieved national recognition for
their musical versatility. They performed throughout the United States and recorded several albums. In 1988, White took a
leave of absence from Grant A.M.E. and organized the D.L.W. Community Chorale, whose purpose is to perform the extended compositions
of African American composers. White was an active member in many music organizations, among them the National Association
of Negro Musicians and the American Chorale Directors Association. In addition he was often requested to give lectures and
workshops across the country. He passed away on September 16, 2010.
Preferred Citation
For information about citing archival material, please consult the appropriate style manual or see the Citations for Archival
Material guide: (https://libguides.csudh.edu/archives-citation)
Sacred Music Collection
This collection is part the Sacred Music Collection, also known as the Georgia and Nolan Payton Archive of Sacred Music, and
is associated with the
African Diaspora of Sacred Music and Musicians (ADSMM) Program . The Sacred Music Collection is made up of smaller collections that contain various primary source materials, such as sheet
music, books, periodicals, photographs, audio visual materials, manuscripts, and more. ADSMM's mission is to facilitate research,
preserve, and make accessible collections documenting the lives of important figures within the sacred music community as
well as its influence primarily within the Los Angeles Black community.
Interested in accessing other Sacred Music collections? If you would like to view these materials in-person, please make an
appointment through the
Gerth Archives and Special Collections website . If you would like to view these materials online, please visit the the
Sacred Music Digital Collections Database website . Please keep in mind that some of the materials in our archival collections are still in the process of being digitized and
are therefore not yet available to the public.
Scope and Contents
IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT THIS COLLECTION: Boxes 30-33, and 35-39 are currently NOT AVAILABLE for viewing. The entire box or
a majority of the materials in these boxes have been sent out to be digitized and should be returning to the Archives shortly.
Apologies for the inconvenience and feel free to reach out to us with any questions. Thank you.
The Don Lee White Collection (1772-2010) contains material and papers documenting White's long career in African-American
church music as both an organist and choir director. Most of the material revolves around his work with Los Angeles area churches,
particularly his main church and choir at Grant A.M.E. Church. The Personal series includes such items as his professional
writings, his transcript from USC, military record, various awards and correspondence. In the Scrapbooks series there are
two scrapbooks given to White that show his personal and professional life from those who knew him, as well as a scrapbook
about the history of the D.L.W. Community Chorale. The next five series involve his research on various churches. (It begins
with general information and papers regarding) the African Methodist Church as a whole (Churches—AME), then delves into his
more intensive research on Historic Black Churches (Churches—Historic). This series starts with a focus on the 19th century,
but later opens up to include the 18th century as well. The Churches—Los Angeles series is similar to the historic series,
but focuses on the Los Angeles area. To support White's studies on the churches there are two series of research material.
The next series, Cultural Reference, is a small collection that focuses on African American history. The series entitled People
contains White's large collection of material regarding African American musicians and singers. Two highlights of this series
include records and biographies of local Los Angeles musicians, as well as an annotated biography of African American composers
and arrangers that he created in 1970. A large part of the collection consists of sheet music, ranging from handwritten pieces
by White and others, to choral pieces, to compilation books featuring historic spirituals. The Music Hymns series includes
compilations of hymns as well as supporting material used in lectures about hymns. In addition there are a number of series
to do with reference material that White collected over the years during his research. There are also several multimedia series
that contain records, audiocassettes, CDs, Reel-to-Reel tapes, videotapes and DVDs. These contain performances of White's
various choirs as well as musical performances he admired. Additional smaller series include Organs, which contains information
about various notable organs in churches as well as African-American organists; Photographs, which mostly consists of recent
photos of church performances, but also has some from White's early life; and Programs which contain various programs from
performances both by White's choirs and others. Lastly there is a small collection of 3x5 floppy disks that contain various
documents White used to keep track of church information and choir members. The files from those disks were transferred to
a CD for ease of use.
Separated Materials
Books from the Don Lee White Collection were separated and added to either the Gerth Archives and Special Collections Rare
Book Collection or the Cain Library collections.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
African Americans -- California -- Los Angeles
African Americans -- Music
African American choirs
African American choral conductors
African American churches
Music -- Instruction and study
Church music
Gospel Music
Sacred music
Spirituals (Songs)
Prairie View A & M University
California State University, Los Angeles. Department of Music
Grant AME Church (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Second Baptist Church (Los Angeles, Calif.)
dlw Community Chorale
American Chorale Directors Association
National Association of Negro Musicians (U.S.)
Southeast Symphony Association
Caldwell, Hansonia L. (Hansonia LaVerne), 1944-
Hairston, Jester, 1901-2000
McNeil, Albert
Wilson, J. Harrison