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Category: Outreach

Lakecia Benjamin: 2023 Library of Congress Jazz Scholar

Posted by: Claudia Morales

The following is a guest post by 2023 Library of Congress Jazz Scholar and 2024 Grammy Nominee Lakecia Benjamin. In many ways, 2023 was a breakout year for me. I was blessed to be able to perform the music I love, meet new people and experience different countries, languages, and cultures. Most people don’t know …

Engraving depicting a scene from Verdi's opera adaptation of Macbeth

Shakespeare Everywhere: From the Stacks to the Coolidge Stage

Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres

This autumn, many of Washington, D.C.’s arts and culture venues are collaborating to present the Shakespeare Everywhere Festival. The Library of Congress is pleased to participate in this gathering of theatrical productions, concerts, lectures, and educational events on offer through December 31, 2023. Bibliophiles and music lovers can experience two special events as part of …

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 …

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 …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Theater for the People: transcribing the Federal Theatre Project

Posted by: Morgen Stevens-Garmon

The Music Division is proud to announce the launch of its first collaboration with By the People, a crowd-source transcription initiative from the Library of Congress. Today marks the start of Theater for the People: Federal Theatre Project playbills, a campaign to transcribe more than 7,750 pages of theater programs and fliers documenting productions from …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Story Time with Music

Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer

Friday, July 27 was a special day for me as a new employee at the Library of Congress. I had the wonderful opportunity to represent the Music Division in an outreach initiative, Story Time for Young Readers. Story Time is a program at the Young Readers Center every Friday at 10:30am. Once a month, March …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Hungarian Jazz Showcase Panel

Posted by: Larry Appelbaum

I was recently invited by the Palace of Arts in Budapest to moderate a panel discussion during their Hungarian Jazz Showcase. The audience was a mix of music students and faculty from the Liszt Academy, as well as professional musicians and enthusiasts who wanted to participate. My fellow panelists included a record producer, music journalist …