Richard E Kent Music and Personal Papers

Overview

Scope and Contents

Biographical Note

Subject Terms

Administrative Information

Detailed Description

Personal Papers and Ephemera

Published Music and Oversized Items



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Finding Aid for Richard E Kent Music and Personal Papers, 1899-1996 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

By Kathryn Feazel, Kelly A. Carlson, and Scott Schwartz

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Collection Overview

Title: Richard E Kent Music and Personal Papers, 1899-1996Add to your cart.

ID: 26/20/107

Primary Creator: Kent, Richard E. (1899-1996)

Extent: 3.0 cubic feet

Arrangement: chronological by type of material

Subjects: Alumni, Bands, Music, New York City, Sousa, John Philip, Urbana, Illinois

Formats/Genres: Papers

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Consists of original and published music compositions and arrangements, correspondence, concert programs, memoirs, newspaper clippings, Sousa Band Fraternal Society newsletters, photographs, Volunteer Illini Projects awards, yearbooks, and appointment books. The collection documents Kent's career with the Sousa Band through photographs and correspondence, as well as the transcription of his interview for the Sousa Oral History Project. The many arrangements, compositions, and transcriptions within the collection document his contribution to the music publishing industry. Included with Kent's published compositions is "On To The Goal, Illinois." Among Kent's original, unpublished compositions is a submission for the Mets official song, entitled "I Am A Mets Fan." In addition to his original compositions, Kent also arranged a number of works by a variety of composers including George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, and Oscar Hammerstein. Finally, newspaper clippings and awards attest to Kent's active, post-retirement participation with Urbana-Champaign area Volunteer Illini Projects. The collection documents the life and career of a Sousa Band member, particularly a native Central Illinoisan, before, during, and after his tour with the great March King.

A composer/title index for all the music is located at the end of the finding aid.

Biographical Note

Richard E. Kent (1899-1996) was born on September 25, 1899, in Jacksonville Illinois. He grew up in a musical family; his father was director of the Bloomington (IL) High School Marching Band for many years. In 1914, the Kent family moved to Urbana, and he attended his last three years of high school at Urbana High School. In 1917, he enrolled at the University of Illinois. While attending the University, he was a member of the Marching Band, under the direction of Albert Austin Harding. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music, specializing in Piano, on June 15, 1921. In November of 1921, he withdrew from his post-graduate studies at the University to accept a professional position as second chair Alto Saxophone in the John Philip Sousa Band. Following two seasons with the Sousa Band, Kent continued his musical career, performing with combos in the Indianapolis (IN) area, including the Royal Peacock Orchestra. He moved to New York around 1921, and made a career as a music arranger with Radio-Keith-Orphem, and later the Southern Music Co. Upon his retirement from Southern Music in 1974, he and his wife, Nora Belle Phares, returned to Urbana. He was active with Volunteer Illini Projects, including the musical group the Heartlanders, until his death on March 19, 1996.

Subject/Index Terms

Alumni
Bands
Music
New York City
Sousa, John Philip
Urbana, Illinois

Administrative Information

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Accruals: 12/94

Acquisition Method: Received in December 1994.

Other Note: 0 Pages

Other URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/uasfa/2620107.pdf


Box and Folder Listing


Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Personal Papers and Ephemera],
[Series 2: Published Music and Oversized Items],
[All]

Series 1: Personal Papers and EphemeraAdd to your cart.
Box 1Add to your cart.
Folder 1: Awards, 1974-81Add to your cart.
Folder 2: Bachelor Thesis & related correspondence:  The Development of American Popular Music, 1921Add to your cart.
Folder 3: Commencement & Dramatic Club Programs, Alumni Association Card (s):  University of Illinois, 1916-33, 1971-84Add to your cart.
Folder 4: Concert Program & Program notes, Carnegie Hall, et. al., 1917, 1940-62Add to your cart.
Folder 5: Concert Programs & Professional Documents:  New York, ca. 1940-60Add to your cart.
Folder 6: Concert Programs:  University of Illinois Military Band, 1914-23, 1933-40Add to your cart.
Folder 7: Correspondence:  Principal correspondents include Henry & Rose Kent, Nora Belle Kent, et. al., includes funeral arrangements for Richard E. Kent, 1929-90Add to your cart.
Folder 8: Funeral & Cemetery Materials:  William Arthur Phares (father of Nora Belle  Kent), 1949-60Add to your cart.
Folder 9: Health Insurance Card & Documents:  Nora Belle Kent, 1990Add to your cart.
Folder 10: Last Will & Testament and related documents:  Richard & Nora Belle Kent, 1976, 1982Add to your cart.
Folder 11: Marriage License & Related documents:  Richard & Nora Belle Kent, 1929Add to your cart.
Folder 12: Memoirs:  Richard E. Kent, 1992-95Add to your cart.
Folder 13: Music:  Arrangements by Richard E. Kent, alpha. by title, A-HAdd to your cart.
Folder 14: Music:  Arrangements by Richard E. Kent, alpha. by title, I-ZAdd to your cart.
Folder 15: Music:  Compositions by Richard E. Kent, includes "I am a Met's Fan," Kent's submission for the Met's official songAdd to your cart.
Folder 16: Music:  PublishedAdd to your cart.
Folder 17: Music:  Transcriptions by Richard E. Kent, alpha. by composer, A-FAdd to your cart.
Folder 18: Music:  Transcriptions by Richard. E. Kent, alpha. by composer, G-PAdd to your cart.
Folder 19: Music:  Transcriptions by Richard E. Kent, alpha. by composer, Q-ZAdd to your cart.
Folder 20: Newspaper Clippings, 1927-74Add to your cart.
Folder 21: Passport Documents, 1965-69Add to your cart.
Folder 22: Photographs:  Richard E. Kent and family, ca. 1912-22, 1940Add to your cart.
Folder 23: Sousa Band Correspondence, contracts, photographs & newspaper clippings, 1911-23, 1954-95Add to your cart.
Folder 24: Sousa Band Fraternal Society Correspondence  & Membership Cards, 1944-84Add to your cart.
Folder 25: Sousa Band Fraternal Society Newsletters, 1945-1976Add to your cart.
Folder 26: Sousa Band Fraternal Society Newsletters, 1977-1989Add to your cart.
Folder 27: Sousa Oral History Project:  Interview  & Newspaper Clippings, 1980-94Add to your cart.
Folder 28: Yearbook, Newspaper, & Reunion:  Urbana High School, 1916-17, 198Add to your cart.
Box 4: Daily Planners: 1974-1993Add to your cart.
Box 5Add to your cart.
Folder 1: University of Illinois Concert Band Medal, UndatedAdd to your cart.
Folder 2: Carribean "Air-Sea" Cruise Diary and Expense Report, 1972Add to your cart.
Folder 3: List of Important Popular Music of the Twentieth Century, UndatedAdd to your cart.
Folder 4: Correspondence, Kent Family Information, Kent/Danner Interview, 1990Add to your cart.
Folder 5: Story of Richard E. Kent, Sr., UndatedAdd to your cart.
Folder 6: Newspaper Clipping and Ephemera, c. 1975-1995Add to your cart.
Folder 7: "Variety" Magazine and New York Times, altered by Richard Kent, Jr., 1991Add to your cart.
Folder 8: Marriage License (Kent/Phares), 1929, and Certificate of Military Service, 1966Add to your cart.
Folder 9: Life Insurance Policies and Related Documents, c. 1946-1984Add to your cart.

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Personal Papers and Ephemera],
[Series 2: Published Music and Oversized Items],
[All]

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