American Choral Directors Association Special Collections, ca. 1950-2000 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

The materials are organized in 15 record groups:

Record Group 1, Harold A. Decker Papers and Sound Recordings. Record group 1 is arranged in three series: Series 1) Instruction and Service, Series 2) Music Concert Programs and Tours, Series 3) Personal Papers. Series 1 is further arranged into 3 sub-series: sub-series 1) Instruction, sub-series 2) Publications and Presentations, and sub-series 3) Service. Series 2 is arranged into four sub-series: sub-series 1) Music, sub-series 2) Performance Programs and Repertoire Lists, sub-series 3) Tours, and sub-series 4) The Singing Illiniand University of Illinois Ensembles Materials and Programs. Series 3 is further arranged into four sub-series: sub-series 1) Conducting Files, sub-series 2) Correspondence, sub-series 3) Newspaper Clippings, Photographs, and Awards, and sub-series 4) Personal Reference Book Library.

Record Group 2, Colleen J. Kirk Papers and Sound Recordings. Record Group 2 is arranged in three series: Series 1) Professional Organizations, Series 2) Instructional Records, and Series 3) Personal and Family Papers. Series 1 is further organized into two sub-series: sub-series 1) American Choral Directors Association Career, and sub-series 2) Professional Organizations. Series 2 is further arranged into three sub-series: sub-series 1) Florida State University, sub-series 2) University of Illinois, and sub-series 3) Teaching Materials.

Record Group 3, Russell Mathis Papers. Record Group 3 is arranged in two series: Series 1) ACDA Correspondence and Records and Series 2) Choral Journal Correspondence.

Record Group 4, Stanley Glarum Papers and Sound Recordings. Record Group 4 is arranged in four series: Series 1) Administrative Files of Lewis and Clark College Choir; Series 2) Research Publications, and instruction; Series 3) Personal Papers; and Series 4) Audiovisual Recordings. Series 1 is further arranged in three sub-series: sub-series 1) Correspondence; sub-series 2) Performance, Tour Programs, and Repertoire Lists; and sub-series 3) Publicity and News Clippings. Series 2 is further arranged in three sub-series: sub-series 1) Music Compositions, Sketches, and Royalty Records; sub-series 2) Lewis and Clark Instructional Materials for Courses Workshops and Clinics; and sub-series 3) Service, Performance, Clinics and Workshops. Series 3 is further arranged into three sub-series: sub-series 1) Student Work and Fellowship Records, sub-series 2) Awards and Recognition, and sub-series 3) Personal Correspondence. Series 4 is further arranged in two sub-series: sub-series 1) Lewis and Clark Choir Concerts and sub-series 2) Music Performances, Home Reels, and Interviews.

Record Group 5, Morris D. Hayes Papers and Realia. Record Group 5 is arranged in two series: Series 1) People to People Scrapbook and Realia and Series 2) Personal Papers.

Record Group 6, Elwood Keister Papers. Record Group 6 is arranged alphabetically.

Record Group 7, Ferenc Farkas Collection. Record Group 7 is arranged into three series: Series 1) Published Music Scores by Ferenc Farkas, Series 2) Music Recordings, and Series 3) Collection of Personal Papers, Correspondence, and Repertoire Books. Series 1 is further arranged in two sub-series: sub-series 1) Published Music Scores by Ferenc Farkas and sub-series 2) Collections of Published Music Scores by Ferenc Farkas.

Record Group 8 Charles C. Hirt Papers. Record Group 8 is arranged in four series: Series 1) ACDA; Series 2) Choral Performances; Series 3) Research, Publications, and Instruction; and Series 4) Personal Papers and Audio Recordings. Series 3 is further arranged into two sub-series: sub-series 1) Research, Publications, and Presentations and sub-series 2) Instruction and Course Materials. Series 4 is further arranged in three sub-series: sub-series 1) Honors, Awards, and Tributes; sub-series 2) Correspondence, Personal Library, and Photographs; and sub-series 3) Scores and Sound Recordings.

Record Group 9, Walter Collins Papers. Record Group 9 is arranged in three series: Series 1) Service Files in Choral Societies, Series 2) Personal Papers, and Series 3) Instructional and Research Materials. Series 1 is further arranged in three sub-series: sub-series 1) American Choral Directors Association, sub-series 2) American Choral Foundation, and sub-series 3) Collection of Other Service Institution Materials. Series 2 is further arranged in three sub-series: sub-series 1) Correspondence, Manuscripts, and Newspaper Clippings; sub-series 2) Newsletters and Periodicals; and sub-series 3) Music. Series 3 is futher arranged in three sub-series: sub-series 1) Dissertations, Theses, and Student Work; sub-series 2) Published Works; and sub-series 3) Research Materials.

Record Group 10; Elaine Brown Music and Papers. Record Group 10 is arranged in three series: Series 1) Elaine Brown Music Library, Series 2) Temple University Music Library and Singing City Music Library, and Series 3) Elaine Brown Papers, Singing City Records, and Memorial Scrapbook and Recording. Series 1 is further arranged in two sub-series: sub-series 1) General Choral Music and sub-series 2) Jewish Choral Music.

Record Group 11, Fred Waring Collection. Record Group 11 is unarranged.

Record Group 12, F. Melius Christiansen Choral Scores. Record Group 12 is organized chronologically.

Record Group 13, Robert Shaw Collection. Record Group 13 is arranged alphabetically by composer last name.

Record Group 14, Robert and Ellis Snyder Choral Library and Personal Papers. Record Group 14 is arranged in two series: Series 1) Ellis E. and Robert E. Snyder Music Library and Series 2) Robert Snyder Personal Papers, Music and Programs. Series 1 is further arranged in four sub-series: sub-series 1) Composers, sub-series 2) Subjects, sub-series 3) Unclassified Published Pieces, and sub-series 4) Unclassified Method Books. Series 2 is further arranged in three sub-series: sub-series 1) ACDA and MENC Conference and Concert Programs, sub-series 2) Deerwood Choir Programs and Music, and sub-series 3) Personal Papers.

and Record Group 15, Small Collections. Record Group 15 consists of 5 series: Series 1) Eva Youngberg Papers, Series 2) Ronald Page Collection, Series 3) John Haberlen Robert Shaw Collection, Series 4) John Haberlen Research Files on William L. Dawson, and Series 5) the Glen Maze Collection of Choral Method Books.

Concerned by the lack of resources available to American choral directors, Robert Landers (director of the US Air Force Choir), Archie Jones (director of choirs at the University of Texas), and Maynard Klein (director of choirs at the University of Michigan) first conceived of a national choral association in 1957. The American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), originally called the American Choirmasters Association following the American Bandmasters Association, was founded two years later in Kansas City, Missouri during the biennial conference of the Music Teachers National Association. The ACDA, which began with 35 members, was established to serve the needs of pubilc school, collegiate, community, sacred, and professional choirs by sponsoring choral workshops, international conventions, concert exchanges, and symposia.

The first executive board was led by Archie Jones (president), R. Wayne Hugoboom (executive director), Earl Willhoite (treasurer), Charles Hirt, Warner Imig, James Aliferis, Elwood Keister, and Harry Robert Wilson. During their first meeting, the executive board established a set of bylaws and yearly dues of $6.

In March 1960, the organization held its first biannual convention in conjunction with the 1960 Music Educator's National Conference. This conference consisted of concerts, reading sessions, workshops, and panel discussions. The following May, the ACDA published the first issue of the Choral Journal. Eleven years later, the organization held its first independent conference in Kansas City. Since then, the ACDA conference has expanded to include honor choirs and multiple sessions.

In addition to their biannual conference, the organization has fostered the annual Schmitt and Pepper Choral Composition Competitions since 1962. In 1991, the ACDA added the Raymond W. Brock Student Composition Competition. In addition, the ACDA also provides awards for dissertations and professional research on choral music. 

Since 1961, the ACDA has been governed by both national and regional officers from six regions. In 1979, the ACDA added a seventh region to accomodate expanding membership.