The American Composers Forum is a national organization that provides opportunities for composers to create and engage their communities in artistic creation and performance. The organization supports composers at all stages in their careers through grants, commissions, performance programs, and educational workshops. The Forum also works to foster an appreciation for new music while developing the next generation of composers, musicians, and communities. Included in the collection are administrative documents covering Heidi Lesemann’s tenure with ACF-LA, as well as distribution materials and e-mail correspondence between members regarding various outreach projects and music events in the Los Angeles area. Furthermore, a series dedicated to Leonard Stein—musicologist and former director of the Arnold Schoenberg Institute at the University of Southern California— provides a wealth of research materials on pioneering contemporary music composers Arnold Schoenberg and Pierre Boulez.

In 1973, a group of graduate students in composition at the University of Minnesota created the Minnesota Composers Forum using a $400 grant from the University's Student Club Activities Fund. In 1996, the organization changed its name to the American Composers Forum, and eventually established local chapters in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Through granting, commissioning, and performance programs, the over 2,000 member national Forum provides composers at all stages of their careers with valuable resources for professional and artistic development. By linking non-profit arts organizations with composers and performers, the Forum fosters a demand for new music, enriches communities, and helps develop the next generation of composers, musicians, and music patrons.

17 document boxes (12.25 linear ft.) 4 record cartons

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