Holdings Alumni Association Alumni Richard E Kent Music and Pe... Finding Aid By Kathryn Feazel, Kelly A. Carlson, and Scott Schwartz
[Printer Friendly] | [ Email us about these papers]Title: Richard E Kent Music and Personal Papers, 1899-1996
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
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 Among Kent's original, unpublished compositions is a submission for the Mets official song, entitled "I Am A Mets Fan."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.
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.
Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
Acquisition Method: Received in December 1994.
Other Note: 0 Pages
Other URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/uasfa/2620107.pdf