Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- Papers of American composer and former UCSB professor, Emma Lou Diemer.
- Extent:
- 40 Linear Feet (10 cartons, 20 flat oversize boxes, 32 boxes, 30 audiotape reels, 56 audiocassettes, and 1 audio disc)
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Emma Lou Diemer papers, PA Mss 41. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains materials from the life and career of Emma Lou Diemer, ranging from 1943-2008.
Materials may include professional records, musical compositions, published articles, correspondence, performance materials, newspaper clippings, photographs, audio recordings, and other related materials. While predominantly in English, portions of the collection are in German, Chinese, Czech, and Danish.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Emma Lou Diemer was an American composer, musician, and educator. She composed extensively for a variety of skill levels and in many genres, including the oft neglected organ, and frequently experimented with new techniques. Born in 1927, Emma Lou was the youngest of four siblings in her musical family. She studied piano and organ throughout her school years and performed frequently in recitals and for religious services, a practice she kept up regularly at various churches until 2001.
She received her Bachelors of Music and Masters of Music in Composition from the Yale School of Music in 1949 and 1950, and in 1952-1953 was a Fulbright Scholar in composition and piano at the Brussels Conservatoire in Belgium. Back in the United States, she attended the Berkshire Music Center, sometimes called Tanglewood, to study composition further during the summers of 1954 and 1955.
The Ford Foundation selected Diemer, in 1959, as one of several young composers to receive positions as composers-in-residence at secondary schools. She continued in this position until 1961, in the meantime earning her Ph. D. of Composition from the Eastman School of Music. Her 'Three Madrigals' for mixed voices and piano is a popular piece from this period and an example of her ability to compose engaging works that are also instructive and appropriate for developing musicians.
She continued her involvement with young musicians in a position as composer-consultant under Contemporary Music Project of Music Educators National Conference in Arlington, VA and Baltimore, MD schools from 1964-65 and held a professorship at the University of Maryland 1965-70 before moving to Santa Barbara to work as a professor of theory and composition at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 1971.
At UCSB, Diemer worked with other professors including Karl Geiringer and Peter Racine Fricker to develop the composition program for undergraduates and pioneered the electronic music program that continues today. She occasionally composed works for students and fellow professors, one of which, 'Toccata' for piano, is among her most popular published works. Diemer retired from the university and became a Professor Emeritus in 1991.
After retiring, Diemer regularly took commissions and produced large numbers of works for chorus, organ and religious settings, frequently incorporating poetic text from various sources. Among her numerous awards are her recognition by the American Guild of Organists as Composer of the Year in 1995 and her receipt of an honorary Doctor of Letters at Central Missouri State University in 1999.
- Acquisition information:
- Collection donated by Emma Lou Diemer, 2001, 2008. Additional materials gifted by The Emma Lou Diemer Estate and The Emma Lou Diemer Trust, November 2024.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is arranged by topic into the eight series:
- Series 1: Personal and Biographic
- Series 2: Works
- Series 3: Correspondence
- Series 4: Finance
- Series 5: Programs
- Series 6: Clippings and Reviews
- Series 7: Family Papers
- Series 8: Audio Recordings
- Physical location:
- A portion of the collection is located at the Southern Regional Library Facility (SRLF).
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.
All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@library.ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Emma Lou Diemer papers, PA Mss 41. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
- Location of this collection:
-
UC Santa Barbara LibrarySanta Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
- Contact:
- (805) 893-3062