Finding Aid for Harry Begian Papers, 1926-97 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

By Sarah A. Long and Kelly A. Carlson

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Collection Overview

Title: Harry Begian Papers, 1926-97

ID: 12/9/25

Primary Creator: Begian, Harry (1921-2010)

Extent: 25.5 cubic feet

Arrangement: The collection is arranged into seven series: Series 1, Clinics and Conference Presentations; Series 2, Sound Recordings; Series 3, Correspondence; Series 4, Administrative Records and Research; Series 5, Teaching Notes; Series 6, Music; and Series 7, Photographs and Uniforms. Materials are arranged in alphabetical and chronological order.

Date Acquired: 12/10/1995. More info below under Accruals.

Formats/Genres: Papers

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Consists of correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, concert recordings, program notes, convention materials, research materials, and published articles that document Harry Begian's career as a conductor, teacher, guest speaker, and scholar from 1946-2005. In addition to administrative materials from his University career, this collection contains his personal teaching materials such as class notes, lesson plans, and conducting exercises. This collection also contains two boxes of his personal arrangements for high school and University bands.

Biographical Note

Harry Begian (1921-2010), University band conductor, composer, arranger, and pedagogue, has appeared as a guest conductor and speaker for numerous high school, University, and professional concert bands throughout the United States and internationally. Dr. Begian started his career as a band director during WWII at McKenzie High school in Detroit before he was drafted. After he finished serving in the war, he went on to become the director of the Cass Technical High School Symphonic Band from 1947-1964, making it one of the finest high school bands in the country.

Dr. Begian was director of bands at Wayne State University, his alma mater, from 1964-1967, and director of bands at Michigan State University from 1967-1970 before his 14 year tenure as director of bands at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1970-1984. After his retirement from the University of Illinois, he went on to become the director of the Purdue University Symphonic Band from 1985-1987.

In addition to being a professional conductor and composer, Dr. Begian is also widely recognized for his pedagogical techniques, and he has published 17 articles on rehearsal analysis and conducting strategies. He has also been the subject of two dissertations, as well as numerous interviews published in the Instrumentalist. Dr. Begian has been the recipient of various awards, including the National Band Association's Citation of Excellence, The Edwin Franko Goldman Award, and the Notre Dame St. Cecelia Award among others.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Clinics and Conference Presentations],
[Series 2: Sound Recordings],
[Series 3: Correspondence],
[Series 4: Administrative Records and Research],
[Series 5: Teaching Notes and Scholarly Papers],
[Series 6: Music],
[Series 7: Photographs, Ephemera and Uniforms],
[Series 8: Correspondence: Church Functions and Congressional Records, 1961-1973, 1961-62, 1964-68, 1973, 1983],
[Series 9: Books],
[All]

Series 5: Teaching Notes and Scholarly Papers

Box 8

Folder 19: Pedagogy, 1935, 1950, 1956-57, 1968, 1973-74, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1994
Folder 20: Pedagogy: Gustav, Joseph, 1949
Folder 21: Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, Gamma Omicron Chapter, 1941-47, 1949-50, 1953, 1955-61, 1963, 1973

Box 9

Folder 1: Gomidas Vartabed Dissertation Transparencies (1 of 3), 1964
Folder 2: Gomidas Vartabed Dissertation Copies from Transparencies (2 of 3): pages 83-166
Folder 3: Gomidas Vartabed Dissertation Transparencies (3 of 3), 1964
Folder 4: Negatives: Aubry, Pierre "Musical System of Armenian Church", 1902: article in La Tribune de Saint Gervais
Folder 5: New York World's Fair - Armenian Folk Festival, 1964
Folder 6: Photographs of Gormidas Vartabed, Maps & Church Plans, 1964: used along until dissertation
Folder 7: St. John's Armenian Church of Greater Detroit, 1968
Folder 11: Tanglewood Notes, 1938, 1947
Folder 19: UIUC, Conducting Class, Scores for MUS 431, Notes, Music Articles, 1968, 1972-1975
Folder 23: Microfilm: Gomidas Vartabed Dissertation Materials, 1959
Folder 24: Microfilm: Gomidas Vartabed Dissertation Materials, 1950
Folder 25: Microfilm: Gomidas Vartabed Dissertation Materials, 1961
Folder 26: Microfilm: Gomidas Vartabed Dissertation Materials, 1962
Folder 27: Microfilm: Gomidas Vartabed Dissertation Materials, 1962
Folder 28: Microfilm: Gomidas Vartabed Dissertation Materials, 1960
Folder 29: Microfilm: Gomidas Vartabed Dissertation Materials, 1960
Folder 30: Microfilm: Gomidas Vartabed Dissertation Materials, 1960

Box 10

Folder 23: Sousa Marches - Advanced Conducting Class Material MUS 449, 1992-93
Folder 24: Student Paper - John Locke: "and the mountains rising nowhere" by J. Schwanter, 1981

Box 11

Folder 36: Graduate Foundations Harry Begian, ca. August 26, 1946

Box 12

Folder 3: University of Michigan: Musicology Notes (1 of 2), 1956-58
Folder 4: University of Michigan: Musicology Notes (2 of 2), 1956-58
Folder 5: Veterans Administration (Scholaring), 1942-47, 1950-56

Box 15

Folder 5: Dodworths Brass Band School, 1992

Box 16

Folder 1: Program Trends of the MSU Bands - Doctoral Dissertation Richard Johnson, 1991
Folder 2: Symphoniphobias by Glen Morely, 1980
Folder 3: Joseph Manfredo Dissertation, 1993
Folder 4: Emeritus Professor Harry Begian: Conductor and Teacher of Symphonic Bands - Masters Dissertation S.J. Williams, 1995
Folder 7: The Life and Work of Leonard Falcone with Emphasis on his years as Director of Bands at MSU: Doctoral Thesis - M.D. Welch, 1973
Folder 9: The Modal Systems of Armenian Sacred Music - Masters Thesis Hachig Thomas Kazarian, 1983
Folder 13: Selected Band Conductors Preparation to Conduct Selected Band Compositions - Doctoral Thesis by Barry Len Ellis, 1994

Box 17: Pedagogical tools, correspondence, publications, pictures

Folder 1: Accompanying soloist guest conducting
Folder 2: Auditioning procedures
Folder 3: Concert staging
Folder 4: Conducting
Folder 5: Conducting problems
Folder 6: Expression
Folder 7: Instrumentation and balance
Folder 8: March interpretation
Folder 9: Programming
Folder 10: Rehearsing
Folder 11: Score Analysis
Folder 12: Seating arrangement
Folder 13: Solfege
Folder 14: Studies in Time Division
Folder 15: Tuning

Box 26

Folder 3: Scholarly Papers Written by Harry Begian, 1956-1957