Stephanie Akau, the music archivist who processed the Shirley Horn Papers for the Library of Congress Music Division, contributes a brief biography of Horn, illustrated with materials from the collection: scrapbook, jazz performance program, and photographs.
The Library of Congress is proud to offer free digital programming from its collections for the enjoyment of audiences that are not able to attend our live events in Washington, D.C. The Music Division works with colleagues throughout the Library to ensure that past events in the Concerts from the Library of Congress series, educational …
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 …
We are delighted that our Salute to Strayhorn, a festival of events dedicated to the life and work of Billy Strayhorn, will take place in multiple venues at the Library of Congress from June 8-10. These events have been delayed for years due to forces beyond our control, but at last we will be returning …
On Thursday, January 19th, 2023 at 7pm in the James Madison Building’s Montpelier Room, Dr. Karen Bryan, Dean of the Arts at Pima Community College, is presenting a lecture: “Self-Determination on the Operatic Stage: Mary Cardwell Dawson and African American performance in Washington, DC and New York City.” Music educator, choir director, opera director, and administrator Mary Cardwell Dawson (1894-1962) founded the National Negro Opera Company, the country's first African-American opera company, in 1941. The Library of Congress is home to the National Negro Opera Company Collection, which documents the Company's productions, operations, fundraising efforts, as well as as Dawson's career and impact.
As we recognize the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial, the Music Division highlights Marian Anderson's iconic 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial by sharing a program and related telegram from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation Collection.
On March 1, 2022, In the Muse published a blog post announcing a finding aid to the Music Division’s Florence B. Price Music Manuscripts. Although we are proud to enhance discoverability of the Library’s Florence Price manuscripts with the finding aid, the blog post contained some inaccurate information and lacked appropriate citations. After considering the concerns raised with the post, the …
James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson's "Lift Every Voice and Sing" is one of the most significant hymns in American history. Read more about the genesis of the song and download sheet music published in 1900 and 1921.