Encoded in EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/perform.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2020570114
DACS was used as the primary description standard.
Collection material in English
Gift of Robert Parris, 1967 and 1969. The manuscript for
No further accruals are expected.
The Music Division classed the Robert Parris Music Manuscripts in ML96.P36 (Case) as they were received in 1967, 1969, and 1972. Melissa Capozio Jones coded the finding aid in 2021.
Additional Robert Parris materials can be found in the Robert Parris papers at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Materials from the Robert Parris Music Manuscripts are governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright laws.
The Robert Parris Music Manuscripts are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Music Division prior to visiting in order to determine whether the desired materials will be available at that time.
Certain restrictions on using or copying materials may apply.
Materials described in this finding aid should be cited using the following information: Last name, first name. Title of work, year. Format of material. Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
American composer and professor Robert Parris (1924-1999) was born and raised in Philadelphia. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, earning a degree in Music Education before studying at the Juilliard School of Music with Peter Mennin and William Bergsma. He also studied under Otto Luening and spent two years at Tanglewood with Jacques Ibert and Aaron Copland from 1950 to 1951. Parris later concluded that the teachings of these composers did not significantly influence the direction of his own work. In 1952, he completed a year of study with Arthur Honegger in Paris on a Fulbright scholarship. After a temporary stint teaching at Washington State College, Parris moved to Washington, D.C., in 1953. He taught briefly at the University of Maryland and worked as a contributing music critic for the
Parris was known as a music colorist, and the majority of his compositions focused heavily on small ensembles and solo instruments. He gained international recognition in 1958 with the premiere of his Concerto for Five Kettledrums and Orchestra by the National Symphony Orchestra and timpanist Fred Begun. He received additional commissions from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Contemporary Music Forum. Parris continued to compose solo and ensemble works until his death in 1999, with the American Composers Alliance publishing more than sixty of his titles.
The Robert Parris Music Manuscripts consist of holograph scores, sketches, and parts for titled and unfinished works. Many of the scores and sketches include extensive annotations and marginalia. Titles of note are the
The collection is arranged in one series:
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The series contains titled and unfinished holograph manuscripts by the composer, including full scores, sketches, and piano parts.
Arranged alphabetically by title.