By Noah Lenstra
Title: Paul Price Percussion Music and Papers, 1961-1982
ID: 12/5/51
Primary Creator: Price, Paul (1921-1986)
Extent: 17.0 cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement: Organized into 5 series. Each series arranged alphabetically by last name of composer or performer, except for Series 4, which is arranged chronologically, and Series 5, which is arranged by format. Series 1. Music Manuscripts - Consists of orginal manuscripts of unpublished compositions and/or arrangements. Series 2. Annotated Scores and Parts - consists of unpublished and published sheet music annotated by Price and/or members of the Manhattan Percussion Ensemble for performance. Series 3. Unannotated Scores and Parts - Consists of reproduced manuscripts bearing no or very few annotations, retained because of their unavailability in other sources. Series 4. Papers - Personal papers of Paul Price. Series 5. Sound Recordings - including LPs, reel-to-reel tapes, and cassette tapes.
Date Acquired: 08/31/1987
Subjects: Faculty Papers, Manuscripts, Music, Music, School of
Formats/Genres: Sheet music, Sound Recordings
Languages: English
Consists of percussion sheet music, sound recordings and correspondence documenting Paul Price's career as a percussion music educator, publisher and performer. Of special note are manuscripts, non-commercial recordings, and other forms of unpublished music materials of American 20th-century composers including Lou Harrison, Michael Colgrass, and Henry Cowell, as well as works by Price himself. Among the sound recordings, of special note are performances by the Manhattan Percussion Ensemble with Paul Price as conductor. Also includes correspondence file containing correspondence with 20th-century composers of percussion music. Some of the sheet music files also contain correspondence, performance programs or other additional material documenting a work's performances or publishing history.
Paul William Price (b. Fitchburg, Mass., 31 July, 1910- d. New York, 1986) was a percussionist, composer, conductor, publisher of percussion music, and music educator during the four decades following the end of World War II. He studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory under George Carey and Fred Noak. In his teaching career he held faculty positions at the University of Illinois from 1949 to 1956; Boston University; Ithaca College; Newark State College and, after 1957, the Manhattan School of Music. Price also conducted the Manhattan Percussion Ensemble and began independently publishing percussion music under the titles "Music for Percussion" and "Paul Price Publications," beginning in the mid-1960s. He was also a composer of percussion music and a writer of books on percussion methodology. Through these activities he was influential in promoting the growth of the percussion ensemble movement in the United States and in stimulating interest in composing for percussion in the latter half of the 20th century.
Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
Alternate Extent Statement: 17 cubic feet
Access Restrictions: No restrictions.
Acquisition Source: Percussive Arts Society and Phyllis Price
Acquisition Method: Donation.