Description
The collection includes non-administrative materials from the UC Berkeley Music Department's files from 1909 to the present
day. Any material having to do with budgetary or financial matters, or with personnel issues, can be found in the Music Department
Administrative Files (Archives Music Dept. 1). The department's filing system has remained intact through the processing of
this archive, with the following exception: like materials have been grouped together; individual file folders have, when
unlabelled, been labeled as to their general contents; and folders have been arranged chronologically within their series
for ease in access. All materials received from the Music Department are otherwise intact.
Background
The University of California, Berkeley Music Department was founded in 1895, and first came to be recognized as a first-class
music department under the chairmanship of Albert Elkus in the 1930's. During Elkus' tenure, the department attracted major
gifts for scholarships, buildings, and fellowships, and appointed well-known scholars and composers to professorships, most
notably Roger Sessions and Manfred Bukofzer. Following the Second World War, the department continued to build its reputation.
Berkeley's graduate programs in musicology, ethnomusicology, and musical composition continue to be ranked highly among similar
programs across the United States.--adapted from program notes, Music at Berkeley: The University of California 125th Anniversary