The following is a guest post from Senior Music Specialist Robin Rausch. In 1995, documentary filmmaker Marjorie Short was looking for work in Washington, DC, and doing research at the Library of Congress for a new project on historical music performance. Music Specialist Raymond White suggested she contact Cyrilla Barr, professor of musicology at Catholic …
The following is a guest post from Music Archivist Janet McKinney. Last week, October 19th marked the anniversary of the surrender by General Cornwallis to George Washington in the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. The siege lasted from September 28th until the peace negotiations were signed on October 19th. Although the …
The Library of Congress Concert Series (whose 90th season was announced earlier this month) offers world-class chamber music performances in the Jefferson Building’s Coolidge Auditorium. Most Library visitors might assume that the space is named for President Calvin Coolidge; however, it was a different Coolidge who is responsible for its construction. In 1925 Elizabeth Sprague …
The following is a guest post from Agnieszka Zagozdzon, who has been researching American Musical Theater collections in the Performing Arts Reading Room nearly every day for the past six months! We asked Agnes to share more about her project and experience at the Library of Congress in this blog post. Every researcher in …
Happy National Doughnut Day! You may be ready to cash in for a free treat at your local doughnut shop, but are you familiar with the history behind this fun tradition? It stretches all the way back to World War I, when The Salvation Army decided that US soldiers overseas would benefit from the creation …
This blog post does not reveal specifics about the Mad Men finale, but does discuss an aspect of the finale – keep this information in mind if you are waiting to watch it! Even if you haven’t seen the series finale of Mad Men that aired this past Sunday night, you’ve likely read or heard …
The following is a guest post by Music Archivist Janet McKinney and Music Reference Specialist Lisa Shiota. May is National Bike Month, a time to showcase the many benefits of cycling. Today in DC it is also Bike to Work Day, where thousands of people in the metropolitan area hop on their bikes for the …
The following is a guest post from retired Music Cataloger Sharon McKinley. A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about Geraldine Farrar, famed soprano at Metropolitan Opera 100 years ago. I only scratched the surface of her collection at the time, and have learned so much more since then. I will be …
The following is a guest post from Music Archivist Chris Hartten who will be presenting a High Noon Lecture in the Whittall Pavilion on Tuesday, February 24. The talk is free and open to the public – see the flyer below the post for more details. If ever there was a blue chip prospect among …
