Browse Exhibitions

1969 and 1970 were politically tumultuous years in the United States and indeed around the world. Unrest in U.S. urban areas and on college and university campuses focused on racial and gender inequalities, the ongoing U.S. war in Vietnam, and demands by students for more responsive and inclusive campus decision making. On 19 May 1969 Black Panther Party (BPP) member Alex Rackley was kidnapped and killed in New Haven by other BPP members who believed he was an FBI informant. In a time of intense FBI counter-intelligence focus on neutralizing the BPP’s influence in U.S. cities, the broad swath of indictments for the murder seemed an overreach to many. The defendants were referred to as the New Haven Nine, an allusion to the famous Chicago Seven, and included Bobby Seale, national BPP Chairman, who had spoken at Yale the day of the murder. Seale was extradited to Connecticut on the approval of California Governor Ronald Reagan, and the trial was set to begin in May 1970. A large protest rally was organized on the New Haven Green, scheduled for 1-3 May 1970. This exhibit explores the events leading up to the New Haven May Day rally, and its impact on Yale, the New Haven community, and beyond.

In 2013 the world marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Richard Wagner, a pivotal figure in the history of western music. Wagner developed a new conception of opera, wrote about it at length, and then composed the librettos and music that put his theories into action. His works are still cornerstones of the operatic répertoire, and his stylistic and formal innovations influenced countless other composers. Wagner's musical genius and charismatic personality inspired cult-like devotion from his admirers, but his anti-Semitism and other character flaws made him many enemies as well, and he is still controversial today. Our exhibit includes five letters by Wagner, along with early photographs and a variety of other materials.

This online exhibit is in conjunction with the physical exhibit that was on display in the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, Yale University, from May to October 2013.

Most of the Gilmore Music Library's holdings come from the classical tradition, but we are also a world-renowned center of jazz research. The Library is the home of the papers of the "King of Swing," Benny Goodman, as well as numerous other jazz figures, such as Mel Powell, Eddie Sauter, Slam Stewart, Red Norvo, and John Hammond. It also holds individual manuscripts by Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, Fats Waller, and Glenn Miller. Hot Spots features a selection of these treasures, along with photographs of jazz luminaries from the papers of Stanley Dance and Helen Oakley Dance and Fred Plaut.

This online exhibit is in conjunction with the physical exhibit that was on display in the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, Yale University, from March to September, 2014.

The inclusion of duets in music method books has a long history. They are an integral part of learning to play any instrument, and this exhibit features examples from instrumental treatises through the ages for brass, woodwind, and stringed instruments.

The Gilmore Music Library is home to a wealth of organ music, in manuscripts and early printed editions, ranging from J.S. Bach and his circle, to Yale composers such as Charles Ives and Paul Hindemith. This exhibition has been organized to coincide with the Northeast Regional Convention of the American Guild of Organists in New Haven in 2015.

During the Cold War, the U.S. State Department sponsored international concert tours by many prominent jazz musicians in the hopes of presenting an attractive image of American culture and values. Preaching to the Choir: American Jazz and Cold War Diplomacy in Southeast Asia focuses on Benny Goodman’s Asian concert tour in 1956-57. It uses photographs, correspondence, clippings, and other archival materials to show the interaction between music and diplomacy. This exhibit developed from a term paper that Eugene Lim ’18 wrote for Prof. Rebekah Ahrendt’s freshman seminar on Music and Diplomacy. Eugene did archival research in the Benny Goodman Papers at the Gilmore Music Library, and also in the national archives of Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Ezra Laderman (1924-2015) ranks among the leading American composers of his era. He served as Dean and Professor of Composition at the Yale School of Music, and also as the President of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Music Center, and the National Music Council. Our exhibit, which includes music, photographs, and other materials, draws upon the Ezra Laderman Papers as well as several items lent to us by the Laderman family. It is being held in conjunction with a memorial concert at the Yale School of Music on March 2, 2016.

Robert Shaw (1916-1999) was the most renowned choral conductor of the 20th century, and a major orchestral conductor as well. He led the Collegiate Chorale and the Robert Shaw Chorale, served as George Szell’s assistant conductor at the Cleveland Orchestra, and was music director of the Atlanta Symphony. He would have turned 100 on April 30, 2016. Our exhibit features musical scores annotated by Shaw, correspondence with prominent persons as well as letters he wrote to his choruses, photographs of Shaw throughout his long career, and a variety of other items.

From June 2016 to January 2017, the Gilmore Music Library underwent major renovations, and our exhibit program was on hold. With the inaugural exhibit in our brand-new display cases, we are delighted to honor the 85th birthday of Prof. Willie Ruff of the Yale School of Music. A world-class musician on two instruments (horn and bass), a multifaceted researcher, a well-connected impresario, and polyglot world traveler; a Yale alumnus and professor; and a long-time friend of the library, Ruff is truly one of a kind. The exhibit features a variety of items, including photographs, sound recordings, manuscripts, and awards. Some are from the library’s own collections, and others borrowed from Ruff himself.

“Tomorrow’s overture is always best, no codas for me—I’m a no-stalgia gal.” —Kay Swift, 1975

Reflecting on her lack of "no-stalgia" at age 78, composer Kay Swift (1897–1993) aptly summarized a long and prolific career in music. In addition to being the first woman to compose the complete score of a successful Broadway musical (Fine and Dandy—1930), Swift wrote music for one of George Balanchine’s first American ballets (Alma Mater—1934), served as a staff composer at Radio City Music Hall, and continued to compose works for stage, screen, and concert hall through to her final New York performance in 1986 at age 89. Perhaps George Gershwin’s closest personal and professional companion during the last ten years of his life, Swift also made invaluable contributions to his legacy—arranging over fifty musical numbers from a combination of his sketchbooks and her own impeccable memory after his death in 1937. Through a combination of photographs, scores, programs, writings, and recordings, “Tomorrow’s Overture is Always Best”: The Music of Kay Swift will provide a glance into the unique breadth of Kay Swift’s career and her substantial contributions to the American musical canon.