Henry Tovey Music Collection
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Select files to request
Scope and Content Note
The collection includes both personal materials and record collections. The personal materials consist of a photograph of Tovey, two of his personal notebooks containing an inventory of his collection, and miscellaneous magazine clippings; these are located in Box 1. The records include 10" and 12" 78 rpm phonograph records, organized alphabetically by composer. Most of these were a part of Tovey's personal record collection, and include a selection of classical pieces performed by some of the most famous singers, pianists, and orchestras of the early 20th century; some of these records were privately pressed by the artist for Tovey. Also included are records of Asian and Middle Eastern music, as well as folk songs from the period.
Dates
- circa 1920-1945
Creator
- Tovey, Henry Doughty (Collector, Person)
Language of Materials
Materials are in English.
Access Information
Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.
Use Information
No Use Restrictions Apply.
No Interlibrary Loan.
Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).
Biographical Note
Henry Doughty Tovey, the founder of the University of Arkansas Music Department, was born on January 26, 1884, in New Boston, Illinois. After graduating from the Knox College Conservatory of Music in Galesburg, Illinois in 1904, he was hired as a professor of music at Ouachita College (now Ouachita Baptist University). In 1908, he came to the University of Arkansas, where he developed and served as chair of the music department until his death in 1933. In 1909, Tovey composed the University of Arkansas Alma Mater (a private recording of Tovey playing the Alma Mater on the organ in the Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago is currently housed in the Arkansas Alumni Center). While at the university, he directed the Glee Club, and he developed The Musical Coffee Hour, a program held in the Arkansas Union in which participants listened to and discussed Tovey's recordings of selected music.
A renowned musicologist and a talented pianist, Tovey served as an accompanist to the opera singers Mary Gardner and Ernestine Roessler Schumann-Heink. He worked to standardize the music education programs of Arkansas high schools, sending them selected sets of records, articles, and photos of performers. He founded the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association, was vice-president of the National Association of Presidents of State Music Teachers Associations, and served as a member of the National Board of Music.
Extent
18.5 Linear Feet (36 boxes)
Arrangement of the Papers
Materials are arranged by format. Phonograph records are divided into two series by size.
Acquisition Information
The Henry Tovey Music Collection was donated to Special Collections on June 2, 2005, by James E. Stice of Austin, Texas. The materials were primarily collected by Henry Tovey; Tovey's collection was later given to the family of James E. Stice, whose records of pop and show tunes complete the collection.
Processing Information
Processed by Lori Neumeier and Sterlyn Gately; completed in February 2009.
- Title
- Henry Tovey Music Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Lori Neumeier and Sterlyn Gately
- Date
- February 2009
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Department Repository
University of Arkansas Libraries
365 N. McIlroy Avenue
Fayetteville AR 72701 United States
(479) 575-8444
specoll@uark.edu