Finding Aid for William Brooks Papers, 1936-2013 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Title: William Brooks Papers, 1936-2013

ID: 12/5/31

Primary Creator: Brooks, William (1943-)

Extent: 28.05 cubic feet

Arrangement: Organized in seven series: Series 1: Biographical Materials and Calendars, 1943-2003; Series 2: Correspondence, 1964-2011; Series 3: Course Papers and Instructional Resources, 1970-2002; Series 4: School of Music; Series 5: Writings, Presentations and Research, 1936-2000; Series 6: Music Composition and Performance Programs, 1961-2012; Series 7: Audio-Visual Recordings, 1964-1992.

Date Acquired: 03/30/2001. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Cage, John, Faculty Papers, Music, Music, School of, Music - United States, Musical Repertoires, Music Composition, New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Teaching, Vocal music

Formats/Genres: Papers

Languages: English

Consists of correspondence; teaching materials including lectures notes, student records and evaluations, and student dissertations; audio-visual recordings; research notes; and original compositions documenting Brooks' career as a student, composer, performer, musicologist, and educator at the University of Illinois [UIUC] (1969-1973 and 1987-2000), University of California at Santa Cruz [UCSC] (1973-1975); University of California at San Diego [UCSD] (1975-1977); University of Keele (1977-1978), Middlebury College (1982), the Institute for Studies in American Music at Brooklyn College (1983), Goldsmiths College, London (1995-1996), and University of York (2006). Organized in seven series: Series 1: Biographical Materials and Calendars, 1943-2003; Series 2: Correspondence, 1964-2011; Series 3: Course Papers and Instructional Resources, 1970-2002; Series 4: School of Music; Series 5: Writings, Presentations and Research, 1936-2000; Series 6: Music Compositions and Performance Programs, 1961-2012; Series 7: Audio-Visual Recordings, 1964-1992. Of particular interest are Brooks's research and publications on John Cage and his research collaborations with the editors of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and Gilbert Chase.

William Brooks (1943-) is an American composer, performer, conductor, musicologist, and educator. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in music and mathematics from Wesleyan University (1965), and his Master of Music in musicology (1971) and Doctorate of Musical Arts in composition-theory (1976) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Brooks served on the music faculty at the University of Illinois between 1969-1973 and 1987-2000 as Professor of Composition, Director of the Contemporary Chamber Singers, and Chair of the Composition-Theory Division for many years. His other faculty positions included appointments at the University of California, Santa Cruz (1973-1975) and University of California, San Diego (1975-1977). Between 1977 and 1987 he worked as a freelance composer, scholar and performer. Brooks has also held visiting appointments at the University of Keele (1977-1978), Middlebury College (1982), the Institute for Studies in American Music, Brooklyn College (1983), and Goldsmiths College, London (1995-1996). He was also a Senior Research Fellow at the Orpheus Institute, Ghent, Belgium (2009-2010). Brooks also served as Associate Professor Emeritus of Composition and Theory at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1987-2000), and beginning in 2000 became Reader in Music at the University of York.  He became full Professor in 2006.

Brooks is closely associated with John Cage as both a performer and scholar.  He played in the world premiere of Cage's HPSCHD and directed several productions of Cage's Song Books. Brooks has published extensively on 20th-century American music, especially on John Cage and Charles Ives, vocal music, popular music, and musical instruments. He served as the adviser for the article, "19th-century Music," for The New Grove Dictionary of American Music. He is composer of American experimental music whose work focuses on mappings between music and other fine arts. He has received commissions from the British Arts Council (1978), the Gulbenkian Foundation (1981) and the Kronos Quartet (1986). In addition his research and compositions have been sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Gulbenkian Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Fulbright Scholar program.

Cage, John
Faculty Papers
Music
Music, School of
Music - United States
Musical Repertoires
Music Composition
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Teaching
Vocal music

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Accruals: Additions acquired 12/20/2002, 5/23/2012, 8/6/2013, 12/2/2013 (items from Northwestern University acquired on this date), March 27, 2017, July 2, 2021 (transfer from the Music and Performing Arts Library), and July 23, 2024.

Acquisition Source: William Brooks

Acquisition Method: Gift

Appraisal Information: In Box 46, Folder 3, the first and last pages of the paperclipped papers labeled "Sketches & Drafts For Orpheus" were printed on scrap paper including Brooks' personal financial information. High-quality photocopies of the fronts of these pages (containing drafts of the composition) were made on acid-free paper in order to preserve their informational content. The originals were discarded so that the folder could remain unsrestricted and accessible.

Processing Information: The Brooks Papers were re-processed in June 2012 by the LIS590AA class to accomodate the significant addition of materials that were donated to the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music in May 2012. Additions made on 8/6/2013 were processed on 8/7/2013.