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

Discovering the Music within our Dance collections: Composer Lucia Dlugoszewski and the Erick Hawkins Dance Company

Posted by: Libby Smigel

The following is a guest post from Kaitlin (Kate) Doyle, one of the Music Division’s summer Fellows. Dance Curator Libby Smigel introduces her.    Meet Kate Doyle, a doctoral candidate specializing in experimental composition and sound for performance art at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Kate spent her summer as a CWRU Fellow …

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

Tap Dance in America Launches Today!

Posted by: Pat Padua

The following is a guest post by Constance Valis Hill,  jazz tap dancer, choreographer, and scholar of performance studies. Her book, Brotherhood in Rhythm: The Jazz Tap Dancing of the Nicholas Brothers (2000) received the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award. Tap Dancing America, A Cultural History (2010) was supported by grants from the John Simon Guggenheim …

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

New Dance Collections in the Performing Arts Encyclopedia

Posted by: Pat Padua

The Music Division is proud to offer two new web presentations in the Performing Arts Encyclopedia.  The collection of notable dancer, choreographer and teacher Bronislava Nijinska (1891-1972) contains a diverse variety of materials documenting dance and the arts in the twentieth century. Available here are over 200 collection items, including manuscripts, books, diaries, choreographic notebooks, …

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

One Small Dance Step For Man

Posted by: Pat Padua

Forty-one years ago today, astronaut Neil A. Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon. The Apollo 11 broadcast from the moon on July 20, 1969, which transmitted Neil Armstrong’s immortal words,  “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” was named to the National Recording Registry in 2004. Remember one giant …

Sheet music cover for "On Patrol in No Man's Land" features a black and white photograph of James Reese Europe posing with his Hellfighters band in military uniform, with an additional portrait of James Reese Europe featured below the ensemble.

New Research Guide: James Reese Europe Resources at the Library of Congress

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).

Image of actors onstage for Porgy and Bess.

Catfish Row Comes to New York: The Genesis of “Porgy and Bess”

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.

Photo of Scala in 1903 at his home. Seated outdoors.

A Note from President Lincoln

Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres

University of Kentucky MLS candidate Jay Stringer-Vaught discusses a unique item in the Music Division’s collections written by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 to Francis Maria Scala, then-leader of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. Also learn about several past appearances by "The President's Own" on the Concerts from the Library of Congress series, which celebrates 100 years in 2025.

Brandee Younger standing next to her harp

Reminder: March 12, 2025 Ticket Release for Concerts from the Library of Congress

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, …