Finding Aid for Terrapin Club Sound Recordings, 1935-1960 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Title: Terrapin Club Sound Recordings, 1935-1960

ID: 41/68/29

Primary Creator: Terrapin Club (1924-1981)

Extent: 0.5 cubic feet

Arrangement: Materials are arranged by material type and then chronologically by album date.

Date Acquired: 06/16/2026

Subjects: American folk music, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), Country Music, Dance orchestra music, Folk music, Folk music--Yugoslavia, Jazz, Physical Education, Physical Education for Women, Polkas, Student Organizations, Swimming, Waltzes, Women's Athletics, Women's Organizations, Women's Sports

Formats/Genres: Sound Recordings

Languages: English

Consists of 12" LPs and 10" Disc recordings, documenting the music used by the University of Illinois Terrapin Club, a student synchronized swimming club for women, between 1935 and 1960. Of particular interest are recordings of Non-ASCAP dance albums, created during the ASCAP Boycott of 1941 and after the general strike of 1948. Also of note is a 10" direct-cut acetate disc produced by WILL, documenting a program called "Physical Education for Women."

The Terrapin Club was a student organization founded in 1924 to promote women's synchronized swimming. The club met weekly at the Huff Gymnasium Pool, Bevier Pool, and by 1981 the IMPE Pool. The club functioned like a sorority, educating "tadpole" pledges and initiating them as full members after they prooved capable swimmers. Hosting an annual water carnival every Spring, members presented and designed elaborate water shows that included scenery, costumes, lighting, stagecraft, and water ballet routine-writing. This annual event is frequently cited as one of the origins of the University's Mom's Day activities. Members of the Terepin Club also frequently joined the Dolphin Club, the men's synchronized swimming club, during their annual shows held in the fall.

In 1947, the club solicited Paul Karlstrom's Orchestra and the Women's Glee Club, under the direction of Ruth Burlison, to accompany 50 swimmers during their annual spring show. While the club continued to work with choral and orchestral ensembles to provide live music at a handful of annual events after this, the majority of their shows were set to pre-recorded instrumental albums that were originally designed to educate dancers and skaters. Terrapin water shows included a variety of musical genres and styles from waltzes and tangos to Yugolslavian folk dances and Western swing.

In 1955, the Terrapin club hosted an intercollegiate synchronized swim meet, following the Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA) rules and regulations. During this meet, Royce Swain was solicited to compose original music for their three routines. Club members also produced research based on their work with the club, including Joni Zuber's 1958 masters thesis entitled, "The Effect of Immediate Correction with Underwater Speakers on Learning Synchronized Swimming Stunts" and Isabelle Bohman's 1955 masters thesis called, "A Study of Possible Recreational Aquatic Activities for the Orthopedically Handicapped." In 1960, Marilynn Austin and Jan Greenberg, both sophomores, were awarded with second class honors at the International Academy of Aquatic Arts Convention at Northwestern University.

In the spring of 1981, the club changed its name to the Illini Buoys. The club changed its name again in 1988 to the Illini Synchronized Swim Club.

American folk music
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP)
Country Music
Dance orchestra music
Folk music
Folk music--Yugoslavia
Jazz
Physical Education
Physical Education for Women
Polkas
Student Organizations
Swimming
Waltzes
Women's Athletics
Women's Organizations
Women's Sports

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Acquisition Source: Gift

Acquisition Method: Rich Gregg.