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Collection Overview
Title: Roslyn Rensch Papers, 1900- 1993
ID: 26/20/95
Primary Creator: Rensch, Roslyn (1923-2021)
Extent: 10.7 cubic feet
Arrangement: By type of material and alphabetical thereunder.
Date Acquired: 05/31/1989. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects: Alumni, American Harp Society, Chicago, Illinois, Class Notes, Evanston, Illinois, Harp, Harps, Indiana State University, Musical Repertoires, Music Competitions, Musicology, Northwestern University, Recitals, Sigma Alpha Iota, Symphony Orchestras, World Harp Congress
Formats/Genres: Concert Programs, Methods--Self Instruction, Microfilms, Papers, Scrapbooks
Languages: English
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Consists of personal papers, student files, teaching notes, research files, book drafts, correspondence, concert programs, harps, string boxes, and scrapbooks (both physical and microfilmed), documenting the career of University of Illinois alumna and harpist Roslyn Rensch. In addition, the papers contain sheet music libraries compiled by Margaret Sweeney and Emma Weast Bichl, both 19th-Century harpists from the Chicago area.
Biographical Note
Rosyln Maria Rensch (June 12, 1923-November 6, 2021) was born in Detroit, Michigan. After the Rensch family moved to Evanston, Illinois in 1929, her mother Maria Damm Rensch encouraged both her and her sister, Gloria, to learn musical instruments. Maria had played piano, harp, and cello in a family band during her youth, performing throughout England in the late 1890s. Given her musical inclinations, Maria took her own children to many musical events. After hearing a solo recital by Alberto Salvi in Chicago, Maria encouranged Rosyln to study the harp.
Rosyln Rensch began her studies with Alberto Salvi soon after. While she was in high school, Rensch performed at weddings and local society dinners. She also gave public solo recitals in Chicago's Wurlitzer Building and the Lyon and Healy recital hall. She graduated from Evanston Township High School in June, 1941.
Rensch continued her studies with Salvi at Northwestern, earning her bachelors degree in harp performance in 1945. While a student at Northwestern, she was an active member of Sigma Alpha Iota. For six weeks following her graduation, she studied at the Juilliard School of Music with Marcel Grandjany. Soon after, she returned to Northwestern to complete a masters degree in harp performance. While completing her degree, she became the principal harpist for the Chicago Civic Orchestra, a position she would hold for six years. After graduating in 1948, she returned to Juilliard to perform in a summer orchestra conducted by Walter Hendl. She published her first book, The Harp, in 1950.
In 1953 she enrolled in Northwestern University's musicology program intending to write her dissertation on the history of the harp. During her first year as a musicologist, she met Dr. Paul Nettl, Dr. Bruno Nettl's father, who encoraged her to complete her degree at Indiana University. She began her studies in musicology with Dr. Nettl and Dr. Willi Apel in 1954. In 1955, she was invited by Fritz Reiner to perform in the CSO's production of Wagner's Götterdämmerung.
In the spring of 1954, she took a faculty position teaching harp at the University of Illinois and transferred to the musicology program at the University of Illinois. Since her research data primarilly consisted of iconographic depictions of the harp, she decided to complete a masters degree in art history at Illinois in 1957. Since the University of Illinois did not offer a PhD program in art history at the time, she transferred once again to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to enroll as a PhD student in art history in 1958. Her dissertation, completed in 1964, entitled "Symbolism and Form of the Harp in Western European Manuscript Illuminations of the Ninth to the Sixteenth Century," was an iconographic and organological account of the history of the harp.
In 1965, she became a faculty member of Idiana State University in Terre Haute. In 1969, she published her second book,The Harp: Its History, Technique, and Repertoire. She was granted tenure in 1970 and served as a professor of harp and art history at Indiana State until 1988. Between 1967 and 1988 she was the principal harpist in the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra. In 1970, she married Philip H. Erbs, the vice-president of the Wrigley Gum Corporation. Between 1977 and 1980, she served as the vice-president of the American Harp Society and from 1983-1987 she helped establish the World Harp Congress. After retiring in 1988, she moved to St. Simons Island Georgia to live with her sister Gloria. She passed away in Brooklyn, New York on November 6, 2021.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
Accruals:
July 27, 1989 and March 30, 1990.
Acquisition Source:
Roslyn Rensch
Acquisition Method:
gift
Related Materials:
See also record series number 35/3/68, box 3, folders 47-48 (contains MPAL correspondence with Rensch and processing notes)
See also the International Harp Archives' finding aid for the Roslyn Rensch Papers: https://harp.lib.byu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/roslynrensch.pdf. Relocated from Brigham Young University to University of Northern Texas in 2025.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Education, 1946-1981],
[Series 2: Research, Service, and Teaching],
[
Series 3: Concert Programs, Posters, and Scrapbooks],
[
Series 4: Music Instruments],
[
Oversize Portfolio Case 1],
[
Oversize Portfolio Case 2],
[
All]
- Series 2: Research, Service, and Teaching
- Sub-Series 1: Publications
- Box 2
- Folder 6: "The Harp in School Bands and Orchestras" Article, March 1960
- Published in The Instrumentalist, vol. XIV, no. 7.
- Folder 7: "The Development of the Medieval Harp: A Re-examination of the Evidence of the Utracht Psalter and its Progeny" Article, 1972
- Published in Gesta, vol. XI, no. 2.
- Folder 8: Articles and Book Reviews for The American Harp Journal, 1972-1987
- Folder 9: Articles for American String Teacher, 1977-1988
- "Progress Report on the Harp," published in vol. XXVII, no. 2, Spring 1977, and "The Third World Harp Congress," published in vol. XXXVIII, no. 1, Winter 1988.
- Box 3
- Folder 1: Articles in Tri-State Trader, December 2, 1978-April 14, 1979
- "Harps: Once Antique Ones Could Be Had for a Song, Now Makers of New Ones Can' Handle Demand," published December 2, 1978 and "Readers Ask 'What Types of Harps Are These?'," published April 14, 1979.
- Folder 2: Articles in American Harp Journal, 1987
- "Out in the Cold World," published in vol. II, no. 2, Winter 1987.
- Folder 3: Manuscript of The Frame Harp -- In Western Europe and in America, chapters 1-5, April 1968
- Listed as "own copy."
- Folder 4: Manuscript of The Frame Harp -- In Western Europe and in America, chapters 6-8, undated
- Folder 5: Manuscript of The Frame Harp -- In Western Europe and in America, photocopy, undated
- Folder 6: Corrected Manuscript of The Frame Harp -- In Western Europe and in America, chapters 1-5, undated
- Corrected after the Duckworth copy and gallery
- Folder 7: Corrected Manuscript of The Frame Harp -- In Western Europe and in America, cahpters 6-7, undated
- Box 4
- Folder 4: Final Publisher Proofs for The Harp, Its History, Technique and Repertoire [Folder 1 of 5], ca. 1968
- Folder 5: Final Publisher Proofs for The Harp, Its History, Technique and Repertoire [Folder 2 of 5], ca. 1968
- Folder 6: Final Publisher Proofs for The Harp, Its History, Technique and Repertoire [Folder 3 of 5], ca. 1968
- Folder 7: Final Publisher Proofs for The Harp, Its History, Technique and Repertoire [Folder 4 of 5], ca. 1968
- Folder 8: Final Publisher Proofs for The Harp, Its History, Technique and Repertoire [Folder 5 of 5], ca. 1968
- Box 5
- Folder 1: Research Notes for Harp Books [Folder 1 of 6], 1940-1989
- Folder 2: Research Notes for Harp Books [Folder 2 of 6], 1940-1989
- Folder 3: Research Notes for Harp Books [Folder 3 of 6], 1940-1989
- Folder 4: Research Notes for Harp Books [Folder 4 of 6], 1940-1989
- Folder 5: Research Notes for Harp Books [Folder 5 of 6], 1940-1989
- Folder 6: Research Notes for Harp Books [Folder 6 of 6], 1940-1989
- Sub-Series 2: Teaching Materials
- Box 2
- Folder 1: Teaching Notes [Folder 1 of 5], August 1977-May 1978
- Folder 2: Teaching Notes [Folder 2 of 5], August 1979-May 1980
- Folder 3: Teaching Notes [ Folder 3 of 5], August 1980-May 1981
- Folder 4: Teaching Notes [Folder 4 of 5], August 1983-May 1984
- Folder 5: Teaching Notes [Folder 5 of 5], September-December 1986
- Sub-Series 3: Research Subject Files
- Box 9
- Folder 1: Bernier, Rosamond, 1987
- Folder 2: Boehm, Mary Louise, 1971-1981
- Folder 3: Carron, Arthur, 1954-1958
- Folder 4: Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Newsletter, 1987
- Folder 8: De Volt, Artiss, 1937-1949
- Folder 9: Franklin, Benjamin, 1979
- Article from Music Through Sources and Documents
- Folder 11: Great Harpists of the World - National Public Radio Series, 1984
- Folder 12: Great Lakes Harpers News, 1988-1989
- Folder 13: Grove Dictionary, 1972-1985
- Box 10
- Folder 1: Harp Classes and Workshops [Folder 1 of 2], 1940-1990
- Folder 2: Harp Classes and Workshops [Folder 2 of 2], 1940-1990
- Folder 3: Harp Competitions [Folder 1 of 2], 1959-1990
- Folder 4: Harp Competitions [Folder 2 of 2], 1959-1990
- Folder 5: Harp Happenings, 1983
- Folder 6: Harp Festivals, 1950-1988
- Folder 7: Harp Music Listings [Folder 1 of 2], 1930-1988
- Folder 8: Harp Music Listings [Folder 2 of 2], 1961-1989
- Sub-Series 4: Service Files
- Box 6
- Folder 1: Alpha Delta Kappa, 1978-1979
- Folder 2: Alliance Française of Terre Haute, 1978
- Folder 3: American Harp Society [Folder 1 of 9], 1970
- Folder 4: American Harp Society [Folder 2 of 9], 1971
- Folder 5: American Harp Society [Folder 3 of 9], 1972
- Folder 6: American Harp Society [Folder 4 of 9], 1973
- Folder 7: American Harp Society [Folder 5 of 9], 1974
- Folder 8: American Harp Society [Folder 6 of 9], 1975
- Folder 9: American Harp Society [Folder 7 of 9], 1976
- Folder 10: American Harp Society [Folder 8 of 9], 1977
- Folder 11: American Harp Society [Folder 9 of 9], 1978
- Box 7
- Folder 1: American Harp Society [Folder 1 of 5], 1979
- Folder 2: American Harp Society [Folder 2 of 5], 1980
- Folder 3: American Harp Society [Folder 3 of 5], 1981
- Folder 4: American Harp Society [Folder 4 of 5], 1982
- Folder 5: American Harp Society [Folder 5 of 5], 1982
- Box 8
- Folder 1: American Harp Society [Folder 1 of 8], 1983
- Folder 2: American Harp Society [Folder 2 of 9], 1984
- Folder 3: American Harp Society [Folder 3 of 8], 1985
- Folder 4: American Harp Society [Folder 4 of 8], 1986
- Folder 5: American Harp Society [Folder 5 of 8], 1987
- Folder 6: American Harp Society [Folder 6 of 8], 1988
- Folder 7: American Harp Society [Folder 7 of 8], 1989-1990
- Folder 8: American Harp Society [Folder 8 of 8], undated
- Folder 9: American Harp Society Membership Documents, 1967-1969
- Includes member directories, constitution, memos, minutes, correspondence, newsletters, notices, and competiton and conference information
- Folder 10: American Harp Society - College Harp Instruction Questionnare, 1979-1988
- Box 9
- Folder 10: Grant Applications, 1984-1986
- Sub-Series 5: Correspondence
- Box 4
- Folder 1: Correspondence Regarding Photographs for The Harp, Its History, Technique, and Repertoire [Folder 1 of 2], January-March 1968
- Folder 2: Correspondence Regarding Photographs for The Harp, Its History, Technique and Repertoire [Folder 2 of 3], April-December 1968
- Folder 3: Correspondence Regarding Photographs for The Harp, Its History, Technique and Repertoire [Folder 3 of 3], 1969
- Box 9
- Folder 5: Correspondence - A-C, 1952-1988
- Folder 6: Correspondence - D-L, 1958-1989
- Folder 7: Correspondence - M-Z, 1949-1988
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Education, 1946-1981],
[Series 2: Research, Service, and Teaching],
[
Series 3: Concert Programs, Posters, and Scrapbooks],
[
Series 4: Music Instruments],
[
Oversize Portfolio Case 1],
[
Oversize Portfolio Case 2],
[
All]
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