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Archive: 2023 (20 Posts)

Sheet music cover for George M. Cohan's song "I wanted to come to Broadway" from the show "Hello Broadway." Cover art features two men dressed in tuxedos and top hats with arms extended and shaking hands. A sketch of New York City streets fills in the background.

By the People: Transcribing Sheet Music of the Musical Theater

Posted by: Cait Miller

The Library of Congress announces its newest "By the People" crowdsourced transcription campaign of Sheet Music of the Musical Theater. The campaign features approximately 16,000 titles, making it the Library's largest transcription campaign to date! Review our special sheet music instructions and start transcribing title pages, lyrics, and advertisements to ultimately make our sheet music keyword searchable!

Curator James Wintle points out a detail on Renaissance sheet music while bassist Duff McKagan and two of his guests look on.

Be Like Duff McKagan and Experience Treasures in the Music Division’s Collections

Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres

The Music Division’s wide-ranging collections in music, dance, and theater offer countless points of connection for visitors, researchers, and musicians alike. One of the great joys of working in the Music Division is curating treasures displays for groups of students, touring musicians, and special guests. While the displays are always tailored to the interests or …

Leonard Bernstein playing a shofar

High Holiday Music in the Music Division

Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer

Tonight at sunset (Friday, September 15, 2023) through Sunday after nightfall, Jewish Americans and Jews around the world celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, to welcome the year 5784 in the Jewish calendar! The Music Division does not disappoint with its holdings of both religious and secular music for this time. Here is a small sample of the gems in our holdings so that we may celebrate together.

Early Hip-Hop at the Library of Congress

Posted by: Heather Darnell

August 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Hip-Hop, said to have begun in 1973 at a little South-Bronx party hosted by DJ Kool Herc. But years before Herc introduced New York to the breakbeat, African-American music and spoken-word traditions had been brewing in the great social unrest of the 60s and 70s  to create a …

Wet Ink Ensemble in performance

Concerts from the Library of Congress: Announcing the Fall 2023 Season

Posted by: David Plylar

We are very excited to announce the fall 2023 Concerts from the Library of Congress events. We are grateful to all of the people who worked to get the Coolidge Auditorium ready for action again in time for our fall concerts, and we are crossing our fingers that these unexpected challenges are all behind us! …

Red, White & Royal Love Song

Posted by: Heather Darnell

The following is a guest post by Music Division Assistant Chief, Nicholas Brown. In honor of this Saturday’s National Book Festival, the Music Division is pleased to share a page-to-screen tidbit relating to the new romantic comedy film “Red, White & Royal Blue” (Prime, 2023) that is being released on August 11, 2023. Based on …

Jo Stafford fixes her hair in a mirror, an assortment of beauty products and perfumes in front of her.

Performing Arts Reading Room Website gets a Makeover!

Posted by: Heather Darnell

Hey, everyone! The Performing Arts Reading Room website has undergone a makeover. Our streamlined design is more accessible, mobile-friendly, and responsive — making it easy for researchers to find the information they need while discovering new resources. Here are just a few highlights: A simple landing page directing researchers to our various services and resources …

Ven a Bailar Bachata!

Posted by: Claudia Morales

By Claudia Morales Concert Producer, Music Division The Library of Congress is joining the Bachata dance craze and is hosting a free bachata class for all levels. On Thursday, August 3, professional dancer, choreographer, and studio owner Julissa Cruz will team up with DJ Hercules to lead a fantastic Bachata night. The class will take …