Guide to the San José State University Music Department Collection
MSS.2010.02.01
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
© 2010
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
special.collections@sjsu.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: San José State University Music Department Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MSS-2010-02-01
Physical Description:
3 boxes
(4 linear ft.)
Date (inclusive): 1925-1999
Abstract: The San José State University Music Department Collection, 1925-1999, documents musical performances produced by the Music
Department. The records consist of print materials, loose-leaf programs, flyers, brochures, compact discs (CD), an audio cassette,
acetate discs, and vinyl recordings.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright is assigned to the San José State University Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives. Copyright restrictions may apply to digital reproductions of the
original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
San José State University Music Department Collection, MSS-2010-02-01, San José State University Library Special Collections
& Archives.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Silke Higgins. Finding aid EAD encoded by Silke Higgins. Reviewed by Danelle Moon and Erin Louthen.
Series II added to the collection by Dana V. Lema in 2017.
Finding aid revised by Eilene Lueck in 2022.
Project Information
This finding aid was created as part of the Survey and Cataloging Project, a two-year San José State University Library grant
project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project began in 2008.The Project Director
is Danelle Moon. The Project Archivist is Erin Louthen.
Organizational History
In 1857 the San Francisco Board of Education established Minns' Evening Normal School for current and prospective teachers
in the city. Named after its principal, George W. Minns, the institution was formally established as the first California
State Normal School by the State Legislature in 1862. A decade later, the Legislature voted to move the Normal School to San
José, and the school relocated to its new home on Washington Square prior to the fall term of 1872. After a fire destroyed
the Normal School building in 1880, the Legislature authorized $200,000 to construct a new building on the same site. Completed
in 1881, the building was commonly referred to as the Second State Normal School. After several names and curriculum changes,
Minns' Normal School is now San José State University, offering more than 134 bachelor's and master's degrees with 110 concentrations,
and is recognized as one of the top public universities granting such degrees in the West.
The San José State Normal School conducted its first musical session in 1871. In 1884, the music program evolved into a four-year
course of study. In 1915, the music program was departmentalized and seventeen courses were offered. In 1922, violin and "other
orchestral instruments" were added to instrumental instruction. In 1926, the marching band was formed. In 1947-48, the Music
Department began offering Graduate course work. In 1948, four B. A. degrees in Professional Music were added: Theory and Composition,
History and Musicology, Performance, and Conducting. In 1949-50, the Music Department created a training band for the Symphonic
Band called the Varsity Band. In 1951, there were 10 separate musical ensembles at San José State University, which included
the Varsity Band, Marching Band, Choral Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Symphony Orchestra, A Cappella Choir, Piano Ensemble, Brass
Choir, String Ensemble, and Woodwind Ensemble.
Since the 1950s, the School of Music has prepared professional performers, composers, and music educators for careers in music
and the arts. Today, San José State University's applied studio faculty includes some of the nation's most gifted artists,
ranging from Metropolitan Opera stars to some of the leading musicians in major Bay Area symphonies. The Jazz Studies program
hosts some of Northern California's leading jazz musicians. An award-winning Composition program is led by some of today's
most respected composers, and many award-winning SJSU performing ensembles are directed by some of California's preeminent
conductors.
Scope and Contents
The San José State University Music Department Collection, 1925-1999, documents musical performances produced by the Music
Department. Loose-leaf programs and the program books were assembled by the department as a complete collection of all the
performances during the season. Flyers, posters, calendars, and newsletters further document the history of the performances
during this time. Finally, there are four types of recordings: acetate discs, audio cassette, compact discs (CD), and vinyl
records.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into three series: Series I. Music Department Programs, 1925-1979; Series II. Publicity and Ephemera,
1952-1989; Series III. Recordings, 1941-1999.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Education, Higher -- California -- San José.
Music -- California.
Students' songs -- California -- San Jose
Concert programs -- California -- San José.
San José State Teachers College -- History.
San José State University -- History.
California State University, San José -- History.
San Jose State College
San José State University -- Music Dept. -- History.
Series I. Music Department Programs
1925-1979
Scope and Contents
The materials in this series document musical performances produced by San José State University's Music Department between
the years 1925 and 1979. All books are bound by season, while loose programs are arranged chronologically by month and year.
Noteworthy performances include
Elijah by Felix Mendelson-Bartholdy in 1951,
Messiah by Georg Friedrich Handel in 1962, and
The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan in 1974.
Arrangement
This series is arranged chronologically by date.
Box 2
Program Books: Music Department
1975-1979
Box 1
Program Books: San Jose State College Music Department
1930-1972
Box 1
Program Books: San Jose State University Music Department
1973-1975
Box 2, Folder 1
Programs and Brochures
1925-1951
Box 2, Folder 2
Programs and Brochures
1951-1962
Box 2, Folder 3
Programs and Brochures
1964-1971
Box 2, Folder 4
Programs and Brochures
1976
Box 2, Folder 5
Programs and Brochures
1977
Box 2, Folder 6
Programs and Brochures
undated
Series II. Publicity and Ephemera
1952-1989
Arrangement
This series is organized alphabetically by resource type.
Scope and Contents
The materials in this series comprise of posters for upcoming shows, flyers for ticket orders, music department newsletters,
personal invitations, event calendars, and a photograph of Glee Club members.
Box 2, Folder 7
Event Calendars
1966-1989
Box 2, Folder 10
Photograph: SJSU Glee Club
1977-1978
Box 2, Folder 11
Posters and Flyers
1966-1978
Series III. Recordings
1941-1999
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically by material type.
Scope and Contents
The materials contained in this series are one cassette recording of the final Glee Club concert, three CDs from the San José
State University Choraliers, two vinyl records, and three acetate discs of the SJSC Symphony Orchestra. The vinyl records
are titled the A Capella Choir and Dumbarton Oak Mass. The acetate discs are piano concertos featuring Margaret Weyand, a
former faculty member.
Box 2, Folder 12
Audio Cassette: Final Glee Club Concert
1977-1978
Box 2, Folder 13
CDs: San Jose State University Choraliers
1999
Box 3
Vinyl Records
1973-1975, undated
