| Quantity: | 3 boxes (1.0 cubic ft) |
|---|---|
| Access: | Open to research |
| Acquisition: | Gift: Ann-Marie Barker Schwartz, December 2012. |
| Processed By: | Abigail L. Fahrenwald Simkovic, Student Assistant, State University of New York at Albany, March 2013 |
With its name taken from the patron saint of music the Saint Cecilia Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1987 in Albany, New York, for the purpose of presenting concerts devoted to the chamber orchestra repertoire in the Capital District of New York State. For ten years the orchestra rose in fame and popularity, each year highlighting and celebrating twentieth-century composers from Shostakovitch to Britten while still paying tribute to the masters of chamber orchestra. In the early 1990s the orchestra began to be featured on various National Public Radio (NPR) programs such as Performance Today and Morning Pro Musica.
Sadly, by the mid-1990s the orchestra began to be torn from the inside with bitter disagreements and frustrations forming among founding musicians, staff, players, and the board. By 1996 the orchestra was insolvent, having amassed over $70,000 in debt. After a failed merger with another local orchestra the Saint Cecilia Chamber Orchestra was dissolved.
This collection contains institutional records from the Saint Cecilia Chamber Orchestra including the general correspondence of the orchestra as well as the correspondence of co-founder and co-artistic director Ann-Marie Barker Schwartz pertaining to the orchestra, the agendas and minutes of the orchestra's board meetings from 1989-1994, a representative collection of the orchestra's proposed budgets and accounts, documentary evidence of its NPR broadcasts, as well as many other representational institutional records ranging from call sheets to the orchestra's eventual bankruptcy paperwork.
This collection also contains documentary evidence of the strife within the orchestra such as one cassette tape labeled "Rob Threats 5/95," many notices from the players and contractors demanding payment on constantly late payroll, and the detailed remonstrations and resignations of several employees. The public face of the orchestra is documented in this collection through a representational collection of programs, advertisements, and newspaper items.
Also included are circa 50 recordings on various formats of the Saint Cecilia Chamber Orchestra performing. The CDs in the collection have been copied for public use.
| Box | Folder | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Records and Correspondence | ||
| 1 | 1 | Correspondence 1988-July 1994. |
| 1 | 2 | Correspondence August 1994-1995. |
| 1 | 3 | Correspondence 1996-1997. |
| 1 | 4 | Board Meeting Minutes and Agendas 1989-1990. |
| 1 | 5 | Board Meeting Minutes and Agendas 1991. |
| 1 | 6 | Board Meeting Minutes and Agendas 1992. |
| 1 | 7 | Board Meeting Minutes and Agendas 1993-1994. |
| 1 | 8 | Budgets and Accounting 1989- February 1992. |
| 1 | 9 | Budgets and Accounting March 1992-1995. |
| 2 | 1 | Financial Statements from Independent Accountants 1989, 1990, and 1992. |
| 2 | 2 | Financial Insolvency Records, 1996. |
| 2 | 3 | National Public Radio Broadcasts, Transcripts and Program Guides, 1993-1995. |
| 2 | 4 | Orchestra Member Availability Forms, undated. |
| 2 | 5 | Newspaper Clippings, 1993-1997. |
| 2 | 6 | Call Sheets for Performances, 1990-1995. |
| 2 | 7 | Lists of Board Members, Orchestra Members, and Fundraiser Contributors, 1991-1994. |
| 2 | 8 | Job Descriptions, Board Member Expectations, St. Cecilia Long-range Plans, By-laws, and Biographies, 1988-1996. |
| 2 | 9 | Programs and Advertisements 1988-1993. |
| 2 | 10 | Programs and Advertisements 1993-1997. |
| 2 | 11 | Sundry. |
| CDs | ||
| 3 | 1 | St. Cecilia Orchestra conducted by Joel Rebzen, "A Soldier's Tale" by Stravinsky, recorded on April 26, 1996. |
| 3 | 2 | St. Cecilia Orchestra's Tribute to Alberto Cinastera, recorded on February 10, 1996. |
| 3 | 3 | St. Cecilia Orchestra's 2nd Annual Founders Concert, recorded on March 23, 1996. |
| 3 | 4 | St. Cecilia Orchestra at Troy Hall on March 24, 1995. |
| 3 | 5 | St. Cecilia Orchestra conducted by Joel Rebzen, recorded on April 26, 1996. |
| 3 | 6 | St. Cecilia Orchestra at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall on October 28, 1995. |
| Cassette Tapes | ||
| 3 | 7 | Unnamed, Maxell UR 60, undated. Side One:
Side Two:
|
| 3 | 8 | "Rob Threats 5/95," Radio Shack Extended Range, [May 1995]. |
| 3 | 9 | Unnamed, TDK SA 100, [1993]. Side One:
Side Two:
|
| 3 | 10 | "Morning Pro Musica Live Performance Series", produced by Leslie Warshaw and conducted by Kenneth Kiesler, January 29, 1992. |
| 3 | 11 | "Burnt Hills Oratorio Society and St. Cecilia Orchestra at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Clifton Park, NY", directed by Rand Reeves, November 21, 1993. |
| 3 | 12 | "Shostakovitch", Maxell, undated. |
| 3 | 13 | "Morning Pro Musica Live Performance Series", produced by Leslie Warshaw and conducted by Alfredo Bonavera, December 5, 1990. |
| 3 | 14 | "Shostakovitch", Scotched XSII/60. January 1992. |
| 3 | 15 | "Durfle", TDK D90, undated. |
| 3 | 16 | "St. Matt 1", master copy, Fuji IEC I, undated. |
| 3 | 17 | "St. Matt 2", master copy, Fuji IEC I, undated. |
| 3 | 18 | "Shostakovich Symposium 1/25/1992 sides 1 & 2", 3m AVX90, January 25, 1992. |
| 3 | 19 | "Shostakovich Symposium 1/25/92 side 3", 3m AVX90, January 25, 1992. |
| 3 | 20 | "Gruget den Henri", Maxwell UR 60, undated. |
| Digital Audio Tapes | ||
| 3 | 21 | "Burnt Hills Oratorio Society Union College Chapel", recorded by Wesley A. Frank, March 20, 1994. |
| 3 | 22 | "Saint Cecilia Orchestra Chancellor's Hall," March 23, 1996. |
| 3 | 23 | "St. Cecelia Union College," January 27, 1990. |
| 3 | 24 | "St. Cecilea [sic] Set-up/ Rehearsal Tape I," undated. |
| 3 | 25 | "St. Cecelia Troy Hall Tape 1A," October 14, 1989. |
| 3 | 26 | "St. Cecelia Troy Hall Tape 1B," October 14, 1989. |
| 3 | 27 | "St. Cecilia (fixed) No Emphasis Tape 2B," undated. |
| 3 | 28 | "Saint Cecilia Orchestra Troy Hall," April 26, 1996. |
| 3 | 29 | "Saint Cecilia Chamber Orchestra," November 22, 1991. |
| 3 | 30 | "St. Cecilia Orchestra Pergoles- Hayden-Stravinsky," April 27, 1991. |
| 3 | 31 | "St. Cecilia Bartok," February 2, 1991. |
| 3 | 32 | "St. Cecilia Janacek/Martinu/Dvorak," October 20, 1990. |
| 3 | 33 | "St. Cecilia Troy Music Hall," May 12, 1990. |
| 3 | 34 | "St. Cecilia Orch. Ozawa Hall," April 30, 1995. |
| 3 | 35 | "St. Cecilia Chamber Orch. November 22, 1991". |
| 3 | 36 | "Saint Cecelia October 10, 1992 Type 2B". |
| 3 | 37 | "BHOS Ein Deutsches Requiem," March 28, 1993. |
| 3 | 38 | "Saint Cecelia Union College," January 30, 1993. |
| 3 | 39 | "Saint Cecelia," January 29, 1993. |
| 3 | 40 | "St. Cecelia Orch. Handel/Messiah 1B," December 12, 1992. |
| 3 | 41 | "St. Cecelia Orch. Handel/Messiah 2B," December 12, 1992. |
| 3 | 42 | "Saint Cecelia October 10, 1992 Tape 1B". |
| 3 | 43 | "St. Cecilia Orch. Concert/Union College," May 1, 1993. |
| 3 | 44 | "Burnt Hills Oratorio Society and St. Cecilia Orchestra," November 21, 1993. |
| 3 | 45 | "Saint Cecilia Orch. Troy Hall," November 19, 1993. |
| 3 | 46 | "Soloman Master with Reverb," undated. |
| 3 | 47 | "Saint Cecilia Orch 1st Methodist Church," May 16, 1993. |
| 3 | 48 | "Saint Cecilia Orchestra Concert- Union College," May 1, 1993. |
| 3 | 49 | "Messiah Troy Hall Tape 1," December 11, 1993. |
| 3 | 50 | "Messiah Troy Hall Tape 2," December 11, 1993. |
| 3 | 51 | "Saint Cecilia Orch," undated. |
| 3 | 52 | "Saint Cecilia Orch. Union College Live Concert," January 27, 1995. |
| 3 | 53 | "Saint Cecilia Orch Troy Hall," November 18, 1994. |
| 3 | 54 | "Saint Cecilia Orchestra Chancellor's Hall," September 16, 1995. |
| 3 | 55 | "Saint Cecilia Orchestra Chancellor's Hall," September 16, 1995. |
| 3 | 56 | "Saint Cecilia Orchestra Troy Hall," October 28, 1995. |
| 3 | 57 | "Albany Pro Musica Troy Music Hall," recorded by Wesley Frank, May 14, 1994. |
| 3 | 58 | "Saint Cecilia @ Union Chapel," February 10, 1996. |
| 3 | 59 | "St. Cecilia Orch Chancellor's Hall," April 29, 1995. |
| 3 | 60 | "St. Cecilia Orchestra Shostakovich," January 25, 1992. |
| 3 | 61 | "St. Cecilia Orch. Chancellor's Hall," April 29, 1995. |
| 3 | 62 | "Saint Cecilia Orch. Union College," November 6, 1994. |
| 3 | 63 | "Saint Cecilia Orch. Troy Hall," May 20, 1994. |
| 3 | 64 | "Saint Cecilia Orch. Union College," January 28, 1995. |
| 3 | 65 | "Saint Cecilia Orchestra Troy Hall," master copy, March 18, 1994. |
| 3 | 66 | "Saint Cecilia Orchestra Union College," September 30, 1994. |
| 3 | 67 | "Saint Cecilia Orch. Troy Hall," November 18, 1994. |
| 3 | 68 | "Saint Cecilia Orch. Tsai Consolatti," November 19, 1994. |
| 3 | 69 | "Saint Cecilia Orch. Tsai Consolatti," November 19, 1994. |
| 3 | 70 | "Saint Cecilia Orchestra Troy Hall," March 18, 1994. |
| 3 | 71 | "Saint Cecilia Orchestra Concert- Union College," May 1, 1993. |