Finding Aid for Michael Manion Music and Papers, 1965-2008 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

By Hannah Jellen

Service Location	Boxes
Archives Research Center, 1707 S. Orchard Street	Box 01-10
Archives Research Center, 1707 S. Orchard Street	Box 11
Archives Research Center, 1707 S. Orchard Street	Box 12
Archives Research Center, 1707 S. Orchard Street	Box 13
Archives Research Center, 1707 S. Orchard Street	Box 14-18 and 20
Archives Research Center, 1707 S. Orchard Street	Box 19
Archives Research Center, 1707 S. Orchard Street	Box 21
SACAM, Band Building, 1103 S. 6th Street	Oversize Portfolio 1

Submit request (Aeon) | email

Email us about these papers | printer

Print this information

Collection Overview

Title: Michael Manion Music and Papers, 1965-2008

ID: 26/20/188

Primary Creator: Manion, Michael (1952-2012)

Extent: 5.25 cubic feet

Arrangement: Content is arranged in five series: Series 1 contains published and unpublished music, Series 2 contains correspondence, Series 3 contains materials related to publication and research, Series 4 contains materials related to Michael's education, Series 5 contains sound recordings and audiovisual materials of Michael's music as well as the music of his contemporaries. All series are arranged alphabetically.

Date Acquired: 02/04/2013

Subjects: Alumni, Compositions-Music, Computer Music, Concerts, Electronic Music, Germany, Jazz, Music Composition, Netherlands, Percussion

Formats/Genres: Audio-Visual Material, Experimental Music, Sheet music, Sound Recordings

Languages: English, German

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Consists of original and published music, new music ensemble performance directions and diagrams, correspondence, research notes, audio recordings, photographs, concert programs, computer files, and posters documenting Michael Manion's career as a percussionist, composer of electroacoustical music, and scholar. Of particular interest is correspondence between Karlheinz Stockhausen and Manion related to Manion's work as Stockhausen's copyist between 1984 and 1987.

Biographical Note

Michael Lawrence Manion (1952-2012) was a percussionist and American composer of electroacoustical music. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Sgt. Major Harry Manion and Floy Manion, Michael studied percussion from a young age. Prior to earning his Bachelor of Music degree in composition and percussion performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1977, Manion played drums in the Grand Rapids Youth Orchestra as well as several local rock and jazz bands. At Oberlin, he studied composition and percussion with Randolph Coleman, Dary John Mizelle, Darlene Dougan, and Gary Lee Nelson. After graduating, Manion traveled to California to study with Robert Ashley at Mills for one year.

Manion earned his Master of Music in composition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1983, studying with Salvatore Martirano and Ben Johnston. During his time at the University of Illinois, Manion composed for the performance collective called Roulette, which was comprised of Illinois graduate students Camilla Hoitenga and John Fonville (flutes); Jim Staley and Bob Gale (trombones); and several composers including Dan Senn, David Means, and Robert Fleisher. Following their work together in Roulette, Hoitenga and Manion travelled to Köln, Germany in the summer of 1980. Manion soon sought lessons with Mauricio Kagel at the Musikhochschule Köln. Although Hoitenga had begun working with Karlheinz Stockhausen--performing his first solo piece for flute at an international competition in Rotterdam in 1980-- and despite Manion desperately wanting to study with him, Hoitenga was unsuccessful in putting Manion in contact with Stockhausen. After Hoitenga and Manion separated in 1981, Manion returned to the states for a year. He eventually met Stockhausen on his own during a 1982 composition course in Den Haag. Between 1984 and 1987 Manion served as Stockhausen's copyist, editing such works Kindheit, Nausenflugeltanz, Wochenkreis, and Madchenprozession.

As he was working with Stockhausen, Manion began studying with Jonathan Harvey at the Univeristy of Sussex. In 1986, Manion, Clarence Barlow, and several other German composers co-founded the composer's collective Gimik: Initiative Musik und Informatik Köln. Gimik was responsible for hosting the 14th International Computer Music Conference in Köln, municipal concert series and lectures in 1991 and 1995, and a summer residency at the Darmstadt Summer Courses in 1992. Manion performed regularly with Gimik at Feedback Studio near Köln's town hall, establishing networks for computer music and supporting both lectures and concerts of new music throughout Europe. Manion later served as the curator of a Gimik retrospective that took place during the International Computer Music Conference in Berlin in 2000.

In August 2001, Manion joined the composer Dennis Bathory-Kitsz at the Ought-One Festival in Montpellier, Vermont. Dubbed the "Woodstock of Non-Pop," the festival featured music compositions by Larry Austin, Clarence Barlow, Kyle Gann, Larry Polansky, and Kaija Saariaho and was dedicated to Barlow. During the festival, Manion performed Bathory-Kitsz's composition RatGeyser for malletKAT and electronic sounds, as well as his own composition Long Roll II.

Throughout the late 1990s, Manion performed regularly in jazz jam sessions with performers like Arjen Gorter (bass) and Sean Bergin (saxophone) at De Engelbewaarder Cafe in Amsterdam. Manion's composition and performance career stopped suddently in 2008, after he suffered a stroke. Manion died in 2012.

Subject/Index Terms

Alumni
Compositions-Music
Computer Music
Concerts
Electronic Music
Germany
Jazz
Music Composition
Netherlands
Percussion

Administrative Information

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Acquisition Source: Mrs. Floy Manion

Acquisition Method: Gift

Related Materials: Published scores of Stockhausen's music and books on Stockhausen's music that were not worked on by Michael Manion and not used for his research articles on Stockhausen were transfered to the Calvin College Library.

Other Note: After his death in 2012, Manion's computer was donated to the Archive. The contents in this computer were not processed until 2025. Containing many legacy software files as well as European software files, accessing this content remains a major challenge.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Original and published music, ca. 1972-2008],
[Series 2: Correspondence, ca. 1972-2004],
[Series 3: Research, Publications, and Performance Materials, ca. 1977-2008],
[Series 4: Education and Personal Papers, ca. 1974-2010],
[Series 5: Sound Recordings, Audiovisual Materials, and Computer Files, ca. 1974-2007],
[All]

Series 1: Original and published music, ca. 1972-2008

Box 1

Folder 1: Iconoclasm (FS), 1972: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 2: Fantasy on "Hail to the Chief" (FS), undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 3: Fragments of scores, undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 4: Echoes/Densities (FS), 1974: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 5: Baroquen Pieces for Snare Drum and Orchestra (FS), undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 6: Minuet (FS), undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 7: Nothing at Newbegins (FS), 1972: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 8: Night (FS), undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 9: Orbis Musica, 1975: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 10: Overture to King Kong (FS), undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 11: Screen (FS), 1980: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 12: Six Pieces for Solo Flute, 1973: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 13: Variations on a Theme by Chopin, undated: Composer/arranger: Chopin, Frederic; Manion, Michael

Box 2

Folder 1: A.D. (FS), 1973: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 2: Dialogue for Percussionist and Pre-Recorded Tape (FS), 1973: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 3: Fragments of scores, undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 4: Hexentanz (FS), undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 5: Islands (FS), 1988: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 6: Music for Cello and Electronic Sounds (FS, P), 1990-1991: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 7: Orbis Musica, 1975: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 8: Screen (FS), 1980: Composer/arrange: Manion, Michael
Folder 9: Theme and Variations on a Theme by Chopin, undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 10: untitled, 1987: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 11: The Washing Machine, undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael

Box 3

Folder 1: Combinations, 1976: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 2: Constellations, 1997: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 3: Islands (FS), 1997: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 4: Long Roll II (FS), 2006: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 5: Music for Cello and Electronic Sounds (FS), 1990: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 6: Music for Electronic Percussion II, 2002: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 7: Music for Marimba and Violin (FS), 1992: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 8: Music for Solo Piano, 2006: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 9: Music for Solo Vibraphone, 2005: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 10: Music for Wind Ensemble (FS), 2002: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 11: Six Pieces for Solo Flute, 2002: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 12: Wheels (FS, P), 1977-1996: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael

Box 4

Folder 1: Delta (FS), 1976: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 2: Dialogue for Percussionist and Pre-Recorded Tape (FS), 1973: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 3: Long Roll II, 2006: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 4: Music for Cello and Electronic Sounds (FS, P), 1991: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 5: Music for Electronic Percussion II, 2002: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 6: Music for Flute and Marimba (FS), 1992: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 7: Music for Marimba and Violin (FS), 1992: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 8: Music for Solo Vibraphone, 2000-2005: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 9: Music for String Quartet (FS), 2008: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 10: Music for Wind Ensemble (FS), 1972: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 11: untitled (FS), undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael

Box 5

Folder 1: Almanac (FS), undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 2: Combinations, 1976: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 3: Constellations, 1974: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 4: Epiphany, 1976: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 5: Fragments of scores, undated: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 6: Interjections (FS), 1974-1975: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 7: Meta (FS), 1977-1980: Composer/arranger: Manion, MIchael
Folder 8: Music for Organ, 1976: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 9: Regions, 1976: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael
Folder 10: Trio (FS), 1975: Composer/arranger: Manion, Michael

Box 6

Folder 1: Aries (FS), 1981: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 2: A Key for "Momente", ca. 1971: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 3: Fragments of photocopied scores, undated: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 4: Kindheit (FS), 1984: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 5: Kurzwellen, 1969: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 6: A capella Version of Madchenprozession (FS), 1997: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 7: Mission und Himmelfahrt vom Donnerstag aus Licht (FS), 1985: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 8: Montag aus Licht fragment (FS), ca. 1987: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 9: Nasenflugeltanz vom Samstag aus Licht (FS), 1995: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 10: Tierkreis, ca. 1975: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 11: Welt-Parlament vom Mittwoch aus Licht (FS), 1996: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 12: Wochenkreis (FS), 1997: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz

Box 7

Folder 1: ...until..., 1974: Composer/arranger: Barlow, Clarence
Folder 2: A Spell, 2004: Composer/arranger: Kan-no, Shigeru
Folder 3: Bales, Barrels, and Cones...Antebellum/Antibellum, 2002: Composer/arranger: Bathory-Kitsz, Dennis
Folder 4: Cantata III, "Gottes Lob", 2005: Composer/arranger: Kan-no, Shigeru
Folder 5: The Chilling Wind, undated: Composer/arranger: Lorenz, Mike
Folder 6: First Snow, 2005: Composer/arranger: Mizelle, Dary John
Folder 7: g-ring-oh!, undated: Composer/arranger: Lach Lau, Juan Sebastian
Folder 8: Interiors, 1966: Composer/arranger: Moran, Robert
Folder 9: Klavierstuck, undated: Composer/arranger: Scharpenphlatz, G.
Folder 10: kongulo kongulo, 2003: Composer/arranger: Asgeirsson, Aki
Folder 11: Millenium Soldier III, Hymnen Pinders, 2005: Composer/arranger: Kan-no, Shigeru
Folder 12: Pater Noster, 1999: Composer/arranger: Kan-no, Shigeru
Folder 13: untitled, unknown: Composer/arranger: unknown
Folder 14: RatGeyser, undated: Composer/arranger: Bathory-Kitsz, Dennis
Folder 15: Slumber Party Massacre, undated: Composer/arranger: Lyon, Eric
Folder 16: Spellbound, 1995: Composer/arranger: Mizelle, Dary John
Folder 17: String Quartet, 1970: Composer/arranger: Brown, Earle
Folder 18: Super-Solo with Voice, 2005: Composer/arranger: Kan-no, Shigeru
Folder 19: Trial IV "Sound-Sound", 2003: Composer/arranger: Kan-no, Shigeru
Folder 20: Trieb III, 2004: Composer/arranger: Kan-no, Shigeru

Box 8

Folder 1: Bales, Barrels and Cones...Antebellum/Antibellum, undated: Composer/arranger: Bathory-Kitsz, Dennis
Folder 2: Creative Mountain, 1983: Composer/arranger: Mizelle, Dary John
Folder 3: Croche et Tient, undated: Composer/arranger: Harrington, Jeffrey
Folder 4: g-ring-oh!, 2003: Composer/arranger: Lach Lau, Juan Sebastian
Folder 5: kongulo kongulo, 2003: Composer/arranger: Asgeirsson, Aki
Folder 6: Linear A, 1978: Composer/arranger: Gehlhaar, R.
Folder 7: Locomotives stalking a leopard in a china closet, undated: Composer/arranger: Gunn, David
Folder 8: Mandala 1: Synchron, 1979: Composer/arranger: Fleisher, Robert
Folder 9: Michael's Journey Round the Earth (FS), undated: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 10: Personal Wellness Attack Points, undated: Composer/arranger: Flanagan
Folder 11: Photocopied fragments of pieces, undated
Folder 12: Polytempus II, 1981: Composer/arranger: Mizelle, Dary John
Folder 13: RatGeyser, undated: Composer/arranger: Bathory-Kitsz, Dennis
Folder 14: Spellbound, 1996: Composer/arranger: Mizelle, Dary John
Folder 15: Stop, 1965: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 16: Superformula from Licht, Monday segment of Superformula, Triple-formula, Superformula from Donnerstag aus Licht, undated: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Folder 17: Xi, Zeitplan Freitag aus Licht, Zeitstruktur der gesamten Gruppen, 1992-1994: Composer/arranger: Stockhausen, Karlheinz

Oversize Portfolio Box 1

Item 1: Constellations, 1974: Removed for conservation August 8, 2014
Item 2: Constellations (FS), 1974: Removed for conservation August 8, 2014