Finding Aid for Paul Martin Zonn Music and Papers, 1950-2000 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

By Reed Gallo, Morris Huck, Mary Miller and Scott Schwartz

[Printer Friendly] | [ Email us about these papers]

Collection Overview

Title: Paul Martin Zonn Music and Papers, 1950-2000

ID: 12/5/35

Primary Creator: Zonn, Paul Martin, 1938- (1938-2000)

Extent: 28.45 cubic feet

Arrangement: The collection is organized into six series. The material is arranged alphabetically or chronologically by date, where applicable.

Date Acquired: 11/17/2004. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Faculty Papers, Music, School of, Music - United States, Music Composition

Formats/Genres: Papers

Languages: English

Abstract

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Consists of sheet music, publicity, programs, correspondence, education materials, photographs and sound recordings that document Paul Martin Zonn's career as a composer, conductor, clarinetist, and educator.

Series 1: Sheet Music, ca. 1955 - 1998 (Boxes 1 - 26 and 41)

Contains Paul Zonn's original compositions, his jazz arrangements, and his Mandolin Ensemble arrangements, compositions written for him and his various performing ensembles, and method books. The music is arranged alphabetically by size and then by styles. Cross referencing between locations is indicated with the use of brackets, [ : ]. The first number identifies the box and the second identifies the folder. Of special note is his "Ultimate Nimbus" written for Clarinet Trio.

Series 2: Publicity, ca. 1950s - 2004 (Boxes 26 - 32, and 38 - 41)

Contains concert programs divided into important performances or performance venues, program notes, concert flyers, press releases, newpaper and magazine publicity, photographs, and sound recordings. The material is arranged by type and each type is then arranged chronologically. Legal sized material is in box 38 and oversized materials in boxes 39 and 41.

Series 3: Correspondence, ca. 1957 - 1999 (Boxes 33 - 34, and 38)

Contains correspondence between Paul Zonn and contemporary composers and educators, various performing ensembles, Universities, publishing companies and radio stations. The material is arranged alphabetically by the writer. Of note are commissions for compositions made by several professional orchestras and chamber ensembles.

Series 4: Education, ca. 1955 - 1998 (Boxes 35 - 37, 38, and 40)

Contains Paul Zonn's classroom materials, published articles, and grant and fellowship proposals. Also contained here is the work of his students. The material is arranged chronologically. Of note is a paper by Daniel Perantoni, former Professor of Tuba at the Unversity of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign.

Series 5: Ephemera, ca. 1930s - 2004 (Boxes 37 - 39)

Contains material from Paul Zonn's high school years, college transcripts and commencement programs, memorial service programs, family photographs and history, and autographs from two famous composers.

Series 6: Sound Recordings, 1957 - 1990 (Boxes 41 - 53)

Organized in two sub-series: Sub-Series 1: Zonn Recordings and Sub-Series 2: Other Recordings.Â Sub-series 1 includes recordings of Paul Zonn's compositions, performances, and conducting and of Wilma Zonn's performances. Organized in chronological order where dates are provided and then arranged alphabetical order by composer, title, ensemble or event where dates are not provided. Sub-series 1 includes recordings of compositions, performances and conducting by others. It too is organized in chronological order where dates are provided and then in alphabetical order by composer, title, ensemble or event where dates are not provided.

Biographical Note

Paul Martin Zonn (1938-2000), modern clarinetist, composer, conductor, educator, gourmet chef, and cutup, graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor's degree in Music in1958, the University of Iowa with a Master of Arts degree in 1965, and a Master of Fine Arts in Composition in 1966. He then started his music career as a Fellow of the Center for Creative and Performing Arts at the State University of New York at Buffalo (1966-67), following with the post of Composer-in-Residence and Conductor of the Grinnell Symphony at Grinnell College (1967-70). He was then appointed Professor of Composition at the School of Music at the University of Illinois, where he retired in 1995 after serving as chairman for the Composition-Theory Division for several years.

Zonn began composing in his early teens and by the end of his life he had produced over 120 musical works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, jazz and mandolin bands, and a variety of instrumental solos. As an innovator in music, he performed, conducted and composed classical, jazz, country, bluegrass, and avant-garde music with equal enthusiasm. In describing his own music Zonn wrote, "My compositions have always been concerned with the very new and the old and the integration of diverse elements? I use the many languages of world music and try to bind them together." He received numerous awards during his lifetime from the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and the University of Illinois' Center for Advanced Studies. He also performed on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Ravinia, and the Library of Congress.

Subject/Index Terms

Faculty Papers
Music, School of
Music - United States
Music Composition

Administrative Information

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Accruals: November 17, 2004 and February 4, 2005. The sound recordings were transferred to the Sousa Archives on April 6, 2021. Three different editions of Chroma for Oboe and Piano, program notes, and a program featuring the piece were transferred to the Sousa Archives on May 24, 2023.

Access Restrictions: None.

Acquisition Method: The music and papers were donated to the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by Wilma Zonn on November 17, 2004.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Sheet Music, 1955-1998],
[Series 2: Publicity, 1950s-2004],
[Series 3: Correspondence, 1957-1999],
[Series 4: Education, 1955-1998],
[Series 5: Ephemera, 1930s-2004],
[Series 6: Sound Recordings, 1957-1990],
[All]

Series 4: Education, 1955-1998

Contains Paul Zonn's classroom materials, published articles, and grant and fellowship proposals.

Box 35: Teaching Materials; Articles; Fellowship and Grant Proposals; Awards; Students` papers

Box 36: Students` Papers and Compositions

Folder 18: Three Movements for Clarinet Solo, by William DeFotis, 1973
Folder 19: Legacy Variations No.99, Stuart Smith, 1973
Folder 20: A Maze [With Grace], by Thomas Albert, 1975
Folder 21: Register Stress, by David Murray, 1976
Folder 22: Four Sketches, by Norman Foster, 1978-79
Folder 23: Vanishing Points/Quantum Leaps, by Janice Mitchell, 1979
Folder 24: Composition Class Student Projects, 1980
Folder 25: Marinet, by Alan Segall, 1986
Folder 26: Icarus, by Paul Marguardt, 1988
Folder 27: Changing Visions, by Mark Zanter, 1990
Folder 28: Sketch for Clarinet and IMW, by Cort Lippe, 1991
Folder 29: I Saw Elvis, by Tom Bourcier, 1992
Folder 30: Penetralia, by Ross Feller

Box 37: Students` Compositions

Folder 1: In Probabilities, by Timothy Bowlby, 1993
Folder 2: Autumn Refrain, by Robert Martz, 1996
Folder 3: Measure for Clarinet, Viola & Bassoon, by A. Barata, Undated
Folder 4: Miles Away, by Judd Danby, Undated
Folder 5: Backbite, by Mark Enslin, Undated
Folder 6: Solo for Clarinet, by Janet Gilbert, Undated
Folder 7: It All Begins, by Andrew Goldberg, Undated
Folder 8: Sketches of a Fake Book Piece, by R. Hurst, Undated
Folder 9: Piece for Clarinet, by R. Levell, Undated
Folder 10: Canon Ana-chronic, by Frank Mauceri, Undated
Folder 11: Folding Music; Tabletures IV, by David Means, Undated
Folder 12: Uncle, by Roscoe Mitchell, Undated
Folder 13: Faces, by Stuart Smith, Undated
Folder 14: You Don't Miss Your Water - Good Ol` Persons, by Unidentified Author, Undated
Folder 15: Unidentified Student Composition, by Unidentified Author, Undated
Folder 16: University of Illinois Composition Student Recitals, 1980, 1981, 1984, & 1994
Folder 17: Students` News, Undated

Box 38: Teaching Materials; Students` Compositions

Folder 21: Demon Upstairs, by Ron Bridgewater, 1978
Folder 22: Space Dust, by C. Sheppard, 1979
Folder 23: Zerplatzende Scherben fur Gitarre und andere Instrumente (10 Kleine Stucke), by David Colclajure, Undated
Folder 24: Solo for Clarinet, by Janet Gilbert, Undated
Folder 25: Limitations II, by P. Goldstein, Undated
Folder 26: Lethal Landscapes, by Susan Paranti, Undated
Folder 27: Realms; Unidentified Composition, by John Vander Slice, Undated

Box 40: Recordings

Folder 6: Tom Bourcier: I Saw Elvis, 1992

Sub-Series 1: Teaching Materials

Box 35

Folder 1: Grinnel College Teaching Materials, ca.1967
Folder 2: University of Illinois Teaching Materials, ca.1970s-90s
Folder 3: University of Illinois Composition Teaching Materials, ca.1970s-90s
Folder 4: Artist Colonies: Fellowship Opportunities in Composition, 1991
Folder 5: Cardew: Solo with Accompaniment - Analysis made by Paul Zonn, ca. 1967-68
Folder 6: "Some Sound Ideas for Clarinet", by Paul Zonn, 1974
Folder 7: "Manner of Boulez`s DOMAINES", by Paul Zonn, Undated
Folder 8: "Extension of Clarinet Technique", by Paul Zonn, Undated

Box 38

Folder 20: University of Illinois Composition Teaching Materials, ca. 1970s-90s

Sub-Series 2: Fellowships and Research Proposals

Box 35

Folder 9: University of Illinois Application for Summer Faculty Fellowships, 1970
Folder 10: University of Illinois, Proposal to Research Board, 1974
Folder 11: National Endowment for the Arts Grant Proposal, 1975
Folder 12: Research Proposals, ca. 1975
Folder 13: Sabbatical Proposal, 1977
Folder 14: National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant, 1980-81
Folder 15: Proposal for Associate Professor in the Center for Advanced Study, 1982
Folder 16: University of Illinois, Proposal to Research Board, 1984
Folder 17: Apple Core Grant Proposal, 1988
Folder 18: University of Illinois, Proposal to Research Board, 1988
Folder 19: Research Proposals, ca. 1990
Folder 20: University of Illinois, Proposal to Research Board, 1993
Folder 21: University of Illinois, Campus Research Board Grant Proposal, 1993
Folder 22: Proposal for KYMA System Hardware, ca. 1994
Folder 23: University of Illinois: Notes from Experimental Music Studios & Computer Music Project, 1997
Folder 24: Center for Interdisciplinary Technological Arts, Undated

Sub-Series 3: Awards and Contracts

Box 35

Folder 25: Composer of the Year Award: Nashville Music Teachers Association, 1991
Folder 26: Distinquished Alumnus Award: University of Miami, 1998
Folder 27: Contract for Tennessee Secrets: Tennessee Music Teachers Association, 1991
Folder 28: Commission: University of Evansville, 1998

Sub-Series 4: Student and Faculty Papers

Box 35

Folder 29: "Contemporary Systems and Trends for the Tuba", by Daniel Perantoni, 1972
Folder 30: "The Nature of Procedure and Structure in the Pure-Cell Graph Composition", by Jan McNeil, 1974
Folder 31: "Readings in Music Theory", by Michael Kowalski, 1974
Folder 32: "Carter`s Pair o` Diamonds", by Robert Cogan, 1976
Folder 33: "Resolution and Progression in Complex and Ambiguous Harmony", by Charles Shackford, 1976
Folder 34: "Rock Keyboard I", by Unidentified Author, ca. 1977
Folder 35: "Contemporary Compositional Techniques", by Brian Belat, 1983

Box 36

Folder 1: "Introduction to Jazz Improvisation (instrumental approach)", by Karel Lidral, 1985
Folder 2: "Some Analytical Thoughts on Arnold Schonberg's Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19, No. 5", by Tim Bowlby, 1989
Folder 3: "Analysis of William Karlin's Sonata No. 3", by Felomeno Arquines, Jr., 1990
Folder 4: "Analysis of Alban Berg's Schliesse Mir Die Augen Beide", by Julianne Cross, 1990
Folder 5: "Etudes pour Piano, Premier Livre, Gyorgy Liget", by Mary Hellmann, 1990
Folder 6: "Polyrhythm in Gyorgy Ligeti's Etudes for Piano", by Richard Power, 1990
Folder 7: "Music for Trumpet by University of Illinois Composers from 1989-1994", by James Bohn, ca. 1994
Folder 8: "Lejaren Hiller: Life & Works", partial dissertation by James Bohn, 1996
Folder 9: "A Very Different kind of Music: The Roles of System Conception & Interpretation in Musical & Serial Systems", by Chris Weise, 1997
Folder 10: "Theory of Music", by Brian Evans, Undated
Folder 11: "A Theory of Temporal Color", by Brian Evans, Undated
Folder 12: Lecture Recital: Clarinet Multiphonics, by Terry Mohn, Undated
Folder 13: "An Analysis of Three Songs from Pierrot Lunaire", by Unidentified Author, Undated
Folder 14: Thesis: Electronic Music, by Unidentified Author, Undated
Folder 15: "Reflections and Points of Departure", by Unidentified Author, Undated
Folder 16: Unidentified Paper, by Unidentified Author, Undated

Sub-Series 5: Student Compositions

Box 36

Folder 17: Program: Fur Musik III, by Unidentified, 1972