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Finding Aid for the North American New Music Festival Archive, 1983-1995Mus. Arc. 13State University of New York at Buffalo. Music Library112 Baird Hall Buffalo, New York 14260-4750 United States Phone: 716 645-2924 Fax: 716 645-3906 Email: musique@buffalo.edu URL: http:ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/music © 2007. State University of New York at Buffalo. All rights reserved. 
Information for UsersPreferred Citation[Specified item], North American New Music Festival Archive, 1983-1995, Music Library, The State University of New York at Buffalo. Terms of Access and UseMaterials can be examined by qualified researchers in the Music Library during hours of operation during which Music Librarians are present. In order to insure access, researchers are advised to contact the Music Library in advance of visits. CopyrightCopyright for the materials in the collection does not reside with the Music Library. Therefore, patrons wishing to publish any item, or part of an item from this collection for any purpose, are responsible for securing requisite permissions. Administrative InformationAcquisition InformationThe bulk of the material was received in 1996 from the Music Department; additional photographs of the festival were purchased in 2007. Accruals and AdditionsNo further accruals are expected to this collection. Processing InformationProcessed by Steven K. Gerber in 2002, and Molly O'Brien, 2007. Historical NoteThe North American New Music Festival was founded in 1983 by Yvar Mikhashoff and Jan Williams, faculty members of the University at Buffalo Music Department and dedicated proponents of contemporary and avant-garde art music. Their aim was to produce, over a ten-day period, a concentrated series of concerts and related events at multiple Buffalo-area locations. These annual music festivals featured a wide range of modern musical styles composed and performed both by emerging creative musicians and by established composers of national and international reputation. The Festivals were held in March or April in the years between 1983 and 1992, in October of 1993, in February of 1995, and in April of 1996, with events occurring in more than a dozen locations, including concert halls, art galleries, churches, theaters, and cabarets. The works of more than 300 composers were presented, including many world premieres. The Festivals were funded primarily through grants from a variety of sources, including the National Endowment for the Arts and Meet The Composer, Inc. Festival co-founder Yvar Mikhashoff was a widely-respected world-class pianist and concert producer, charismatic in his ability to attract participation and support. After his untimely death in 1993, a one-year hiatus in the course of the Festivals occurred. The absence of his personal leadership and that of Jan Williams, who retired from the Music Department in 1996, together with an austere funding climate, resulted in the eventual demise of the Festival. The final two Festivals were produced by the University's newly-opened Center for the Arts, under the direction of Robert Chumbley. Scope and Content NoteThis archive consists primarily of materials related to the planning and production of individual North American New Music Festivals from 1983 to 1993. It comprises twelve boxes (nine of paper documents, one of paper documents and computer diskettes, and two of photographs;). It does not contain scores to, or recordings of, music performed at the Festivals (however, see Related Resources for recordings). Six series make up the archive: Artists and Ensembles, Promotion and Publicity, Funding, Festival Operations, Miscellaneous, and Photographs. The Promotion and Publicity series is organized chronologically by Festival year. Festival Operations is divided into four subseries: Budgets and Financial Projections, Concert Planning and Logistics, Vendors and Venues, and Forms. The degree of completeness of these papers is highly variable, as is the level of formality. For example, although there are many budget worksheets that appear to be preliminary drafts and working papers, there are few, if any, final reports of a financial nature. Similarly, there are many handwritten lists, annotated outlines, and copies of unsigned contracts, but little that conclusively documents decisions made. On the other hand, the very ad-hoc nature of many items provides a glimpse into the complexities of operating the Festival. The Promotion and Publicity series, with its printed concert programs (1983-1990, 1992-1993) and numerous newspaper reviews of individual concerts, is a particularly rich source of information on the content of the Festivals and their reception by music critics. ArrangementArranged into six series: Container List
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