Arrangement note
Sponsor
Biographical/Historical note
Conditions Governing Use note
Conditions Governing Access note
Preferred Citation note
Scope and Contents note
Title:
Ambassador
Auditorium Collection
Identifier/Call Number: ARS.0043
Repository:
Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries
Stanford, California 94305-3076
Physical Description:
636
containers of various sizes with multiple types of print materials, photographic materials, audio and video materials, realia,
posters and original art work (682.05 linear feet).
Date (inclusive): 1974-1995
Abstract: The
Ambassador
Auditorium Collection contains the files of the various organizational departments of the
Ambassador
Auditorium as well as audio and video recordings. The materials cover the entire time period of April 1974 through May 1995
when the
Ambassador
Auditorium was fully operational as an internationally recognized concert venue. The materials in this collection cover all
aspects of concert production and presentation, including documentation of the concert artists and repertoire as well as many
business documents, advertising, promotion and marketing files, correspondence, inter-office memos and negotiations with booking
agents. The materials are widely varied and include concert program booklets, audio and video recordings, concert season planning
materials, artist publicity materials, individual event files, posters, photographs, scrapbooks and original artwork used
for publicity. Many of the print materials include handwritten comments from office personnel and administrators, and many
of the artist photographs are autographed. Since the various office personnel maintained their own files, and the same information
was often needed in more than one office at a time, the collection contains duplicate copies of many items. Although efforts
were made to eliminate duplicate material from the same file or the same series, duplicate copies of items exist among the
files from different offices. In an effort to maintain the original content of these files, the cross-file duplicate items
were retained in the collection.
Location note: Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries Stanford, California 94305-3076
Language of Materials note: English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Russian, Hungarian, Dutch, Latin, Malay, Thai, Czech, Slovak.
Arrangement note
The collection is arranged in ten series according to the original order established by the
Ambassador
Auditorium personnel: (1) Administrative Files; (2) Concert Files; (3) Concert Management and Booking Files; (4) Concert
Program Files; (5) Publicity and Advertising; (6) Marketing Files; (7) Broadcast Media Associate Files and Media Relations/In
Recital Files; (8) Performance Files; (9) Miscellaneous Materials: Scrapbooks, Miscellaneous Signed Photographs, Artwork Assigned
to Scrapbooks; (10) Concert Recordings. Sub-Series have been established for audio and video recordings.
In general, the original order of materials has been maintained to provide a contextual relationship of individual items within
each series and within the total collection. Although many of the files were originally organized either alphabetically or
chronologically, there seem to be inconsistencies in the filing systems used by the
Ambassador
personnel. Filing procedures within a single office appeared to have changed over time, or in some cases it appears that
different filing systems were used simultaneously. To a large degree, these variants in filing procedure have been maintained
with occasional small adjustments made to group together certain related materials when it made sense to do so.
Sponsor
This collection has been processed under the auspices of the Council on Library and Information Resources with generous financial
support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Biographical/Historical note
The
Ambassador
Auditorium is located on the grounds of Maranatha High School (formerly the campus of
Ambassador
College) in Pasadena, California. The
Ambassador
was built under the guidance of Herbert W. Armstrong as a facility for religious services of the Worldwide Church of God
and also as a performing arts center. The architectural design of the building bears certain similarities to that of the Temple
of ancient Israel.
The first public concert at the
Ambassador
was presented by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini, on April 7, 1974. For the next twenty years
the
Ambassador
hosted many of the world’s finest performing artists in many genres, and thus it was known as “The Carnegie Hall of the West.”
Notable artists who performed at the
Ambassador
included Artur Rubinstein, Leontyne Price, Victor Borge, Peter Schickele as P.D.Q. Bach, Julian Bream, Andrés Segovia, Barbara
Cook, Juilliard String Quartet, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Yo-Yo Ma, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Jean-Pierre Rampal,
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, the Chieftains, the Kingston Trio, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Marcel Marceau, Claire Bloom, Count
Basie, Benny Goodman, Modern Jazz Quartet, Oscar Peterson, Ravi Shankar, Mel Tormé, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. During
this period the
Ambassador
also hosted the inaugural Ivo Pogorelich International Solo Piano Competition as well as the Pasadena Jazz Festival. The
interior design of the hall was noted for its exceptional elegance displaying Iranian onyx, African teak wood, gold overlay
and wool carpets from India. Due to the relatively small seating capacity of the main hall with 1262 seats (compared with
Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium which has 2804 seats), the
Ambassador
was particularly well suited to small ensembles and solo performances. In the mid 1990s the Worldwide Church of God, which
operated the
Ambassador
Auditorium and
Ambassador
College, ceased its operations and sold the property. In 2004 a portion of the property, including the
Ambassador
Auditorium, was purchased by HRock Church of Pasadena.
Conditions Governing Use note
Property rights reside with the repository. Publication and reproduction rights reside with the creators or their heirs. To
obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Head Librarian of the Archive of Recorded Sound.
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research. Listening appointments may require 24 hours notice. Contact the Archive Operations Manager.
Preferred Citation note
Ambassador
Auditorium Collection, ARS.0043. Courtesy of the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford,
CA.
Scope and Contents note
The
Ambassador
Auditorium Collection was assembled and donated by the
Ambassador
Foundation in 2001. The collection consists of over 600 boxes of concert information and documentation from the numerous
files of the
Ambassador
Auditorium during the period of April 1974 through May 1995. The materials include concert program booklets, concert and
promotional audio and video recordings, concert season planning materials, artist publicity materials, individual event files,
posters, photographs, scrapbooks, original artwork used for publicity, and so far is as known, the complete office files from
the various departments of the
Ambassador
Auditorium including some correspondence and inter-office memos.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ambassador
Hall (Pasadena, Calif.).
Ambassador
International Cultural Foundation.
American Federation of Musicians.
Armstrong, Herbert W.
Ivo Pogorelich International Solo Piano Competition.
Pasadena Jazz Festival.
Worldwide Church of God.
Advertising departments
Advertising fliers
Auditoriums--California
Centers for the performing arts--California
Concert programs
Entertainers--Photographs
Music publicity
Musicians--Photographs