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Posted by: Cait Miller
Louis Armstrong and Lil Hardin Armstrong brought the sounds of New Orleans and Chicago-style jazz to the forefront of America’s early 20th century soundscape. Learn more about Armstrong materials at the Library of Congress in this resource guide.
Posted in: African American History, Blues, Composers, Jazz, Research Guides
Posted by: Claudia Morales
Learn about 2024-2025 Library of Congress Jazz Scholar Willard Jenkins' time exploring the Music Division's jazz collections. Jenkins, who is the artistic director of the DC Jazz Festival, conducted research in the archives this spring and presented a lecture on "The Enduring Importance of Jazz Archives" on June 18, 2025.
Posted in: African American History, American history, Composers, Copyright Deposits, Jazz, Musicians, Sheet Music, Women in Music
Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres
Music Reference Specialist Morgan Davis recaps a lecture delivered by Dr. I Augustus Durham at the Library on June 5, 2025. His lecture, entitled “Marvin Gaye: Melancholy and Genius in Black Culture and Media,” explored the influence of creators such as George and Ira Gershwin, Marian Anderson and Mahalia Jackson, on music from the crime thriller “Trouble Man” scored by Marvin Gaye. This blog includes the video of the lecture.
Posted in: African American History, American history, Concerts and Events, Musical Theater, Musicians
Posted by: Cait Miller
The Music Division’s newest research guide, James Reese Europe: A Guide to Resources at the Library of Congress, provides a gateway to accessing historic sheet music, unique literary manuscripts, newspaper archives, recordings, photographs and scholarly research by and related to leading cultural figure James Reese Europe (1881-1919).
Posted in: African American History, American history, Jazz, Research Guides, World War I
Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres
Curator of the George and Ira Gershwin Collection Ray White discusses the origins of the Gershwins' "Porgy and Bess" in commemoration of the work's 90th anniversary. The Library and Washington National Opera present a concert and panel discussion to celebrate the anniversary on Wednesday, April 23 at 6:00 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium.
Posted in: African American History, American history, Composers, Concerts and Events, Curators, Musical Theater, Special Collections, Staff
Posted by: Claudia Morales
The Music Division is excited to present the premieres of two newly commissioned works by renowned living women composers, Tania León and Jlin.
Posted in: African American History, American history, Arrangers, Commissions, Composers, Concerts and Events, Conductors, Electronic Music, Latin American History, Music Division history, Musicians, New Acquisitions, New Music, Women in Music
Posted by: David Plylar
*** Registrations for May-June 2025 events will be available starting at 10 a.m. EST on Wednesday, March 12, 2025*** The 100th season of Concerts from the Library of Congress continues with an exciting lineup of concerts through June 2025. Tickets for May and June events will be available starting at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, …
Posted in: African American History, Choreographers, Commissions, Composers, Concerts and Events, Dance, Electronic Music, Instrumentalists, Jazz
Posted by: Libby Smigel
The archival materials in the Music Division's Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Collection are now discoverable through an online finding aid. Archivists Stephanie Akau and Maya Lerman provide a sneak peek into the vast contents of this intriguing collection by selecting some sample images.
Posted in: African American History, Birthdays, Choreographers, Dance, Guest bloggers, New finding aid, Special Collections