Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Treble Clef Club Collection. 1922-2015, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A collection of the club’s meeting minutes, secretary and treasurer’s notes, programs, yearbooks, scrapbooks and music sheets.

The Treble Clef Club was chartered in Pittsburg, Kansas in 1904 by women interested in the study of music. The club originally agreed to have no more than 20 members who would meet twice a month to study composers and perform their works. In 1908 the club expanded membership due to increased interest. The first junior club, for high school girls, was started in 1922 but did not succeed. The club tried again in 1944, creating a club with 28 girls. By 1964, …

Ruff, Walter Glen, Collection, 1883-1962, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A collection of sheet music, guides, books, and other materials related to W. Glen Ruff and his music shop.

Walter Glen Ruff (1904-1989) was born in Kansas and graduated from Fort Hays State Teachers College. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Kansas in 1940. Following this, he taught instrumental and vocal music on both the high school and college level. Ruff served with the American Red Cross in India and Ceylon during World War II. Afterwards, he was head of the music department at Western Carolina Teachers College. In 1950, he moved back to Kansas at opened …

Rudesill, Henry, Papers, 1894-1895, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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These are the papers of Henry Rudesill consisting of correspondence and newspapers sent to him by his mother and father during his attendance at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Oberlin, Ohio.

Henry Milton Rudesill was born on May 8, 1873 in Ashland, Ohio to Henrietta Rudesill and John C. Rudesill. In 1890, the family moved from Ohio to Hutchinson, Kansas. After receiving his music education degree from the University of Kansas School of Music, Rudesill moved to Oberlin, Ohio to attend the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. While at the Conservatory, Rudesill studied organ, piano, and harp, and was a member …

Fiddler's Fund Collection, 1970-1981, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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The collection of the Fiddler’s Fund consists of letters, newspaper clippings; article, meeting minutes, IRS tax information, deposit checks, non-profit filings, scholarship applications, and bank account balance reports for a musical-support organization.

Created in 1970, the Fiddler's Fund of Pittsburg Inc. was a non-profit organization (501c3) dedicated to raising money and providing scholarships for K-12 students in need of musical instruments and lessons. In 1980, after its dissolution, the Fiddler’s Fund donated its remaining funds to the Pittsburg State University Music Department for scholarships.

Ruggles Family Collection, 1897-1964, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A collection of music sheets, school work, handbooks, and children’s books.

James Ruggles (1933-2015) was born to George and Zelpha Ruggles in Pittsburg, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State Teachers College (now Pittsburg State University) in 1953, and received his medical degree from the University of Kansas in 1957. From 1963 to 1965, Ruggles worked in the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. He then completed a two-year fellowship in Pathology at the University of Minnesota, and worked as a pathologist for 39 years. In 1991, he and Ramona Woolley married in Yankton, South Dakota. In his pastime, James enjoyed music, …

Purcell, Arleen, Collection, 1919-1991, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A collection of documents and items related to Fort Scott and southeast Kansas, and Arleen Purcell’s travels and studies.

Arleen Purcell (1912-2001) was an elementary school teacher in Fort Scott, Kansas who collaborated in writing the musical Footprints on the Frontier. She was married to Ralph Emerson Purcell, with whom she had two sons. Purcell took great interest in local history and community organizations. In the 1970s, she took study abroad trips through Western Illinois University and the Kansas State College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University) to South America.

Whitehead, Bryan, Collection, 1948-2005, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A collection of programs, documents, brochures, maps, and postcards relating to railroads, music, and Bryan K. Whitehead’s travels.

Bryan K. Whitehead (1925-2008) was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma to Joseph and Mary Miller Whitehead. He and his family moved to Pratt, Kansas in 1936 where he attended school until his high school graduation in 1942. Before attending Kansas State Teachers College of Emporia, Bryan worked as a Rock Island Railroad clerk. Bryan and Mary Hertlein were married in 1943. He served as a musician in the Army Air Corps during World War II, becoming an active musician among the community upon …

Richards, J. J., Collection, 1982-2007, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Letters, photographs, papers, research, music, and music lists relating to the career and life of John Joseph Richards and other musicians such as Merle Evans, Karl King, and John Phillip Sousa.

Martin, Carolann, Collection, 1961-2019, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A Collection of VHS tapes, cassettes tapes, coursework, music, recordings, student essays and coursework belonging to Dr. Carolann Martin.

Carolann Martin was born on Nov. 20, 1935, in Woodward, Oklahoma to John C. Martin and Leah Shilling. In 1957, she received a scholarship from Oklahoma State University. From 1958-1961 she was appointed conductor for the local marine band, rising to the rank of 1^st Lieutenant. In 1964, she received her masters of arts from Ohio State University. 1977, she began her career in the music department at Pittsburg State University, while taking summer courses at the University of Arizona. …

Gray, Mary Virginia Holstine, Collection, 1901-1991, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A Collection of short stories and music produced, collected, and owned by Mary Virginia Holstine Gray.

Mary Virginia Erskine Holstine Gray was born on January 21^st, 1908 in Pittsburg, Kansas to Ralph and Myrta Erskine. She married Lawrence Holstine in 1931 and ran the Ritz Tavern with him until the late 1960s. In the mid-1940s she began to write her own music, and throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s she wrote short stories. In 1967, Lawrence Holstine passed away. After his death, Mary moved to Frontenac, Kansas. In 1971, she married Roland Gray, who passed away in …

Graduate Piano Recital, Young Eun Jeong

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

My thesis consists of a master’s piano recital and the written document of extended program notes. The recital program features the Prelude and Fugue in B major, BWV 868 from the Well-Tempered Clavier I by Johann Sebastian Bach; Piano Sonata in C Major, Hob.XVI:50 by Franz Joseph Haydn; Fantasy in F Minor, Op.49 by Frédéric François Chopin, Arirang by Yook Gi Sul, and Piano Sonata, Sz.80 by Béla Viktor János Bartók. This thesis will provide discussions on the respective composers, their music styles, and an in-depth analysis of each composition.

A Practical Theoretical Analysis Of Vincent Persicheti’S Serenade No. 12 For Solo Tuba, Davis Erickson

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

A document analyzing American composer Vincent Persichetti’s 1961 work for solo tuba titled Serenade No. 12 for Solo Tuba. The document comprises eight chapters. One each for the six movements of the work, an introduction providing biographical information on the composer and context for the work within art music of the mid twentieth century, and a conclusion connecting the analyses of the six movements. Within each chapter on the six movements of the work there are theoretical analyses of the music as well as practical considerations for performers of the work to observe.

A Graduate Recital In Conducting, Alex Chesney

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This graduate thesis consists of a choral conducting recital and the accompanying program notes. The recital includes selections by Terry Schlenker, Marc’Antonio Ingegneri, Johann Michael Haydn, Ēriks Ešenvalds, David Dickau, Antonio Soler, Gustav Holst, Ethan McGrath, Antonín Dvořák, and Stephen Paulus. The program notes for each selection will include biographical information, musical analysis, and historical traditions, as well as other pertinent information.

Graduate Violin Recital, Xiaotong Yang

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

My Master’s thesis consists of a graduate-level violin recital and a supporting document of program notes. The repertoire for the recital should includes the following works: Max Bruch, Violin Concerto No.1 in G Minor; Johann Sebastian Bach, Violin Partita in D minor; Astor Piazzolla, Tango Etudes No.3, and an extra section that is about Musician Injuries. The music pieces were composed over the past two centuries, these work display a variety of styles and musical forms. The content of thesis included background history, theoretical and interpretative analysis of musical detailed information.

Graduate Conducting Recital, Amelia R. Markley

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to provide an understanding of, and present historical information regarding the selections performed on a graduate conducting recital at Pittsburg State University. Selections performed were written by the following composers: Jacques Offenbach, Antonio Vivaldi, Joseph Haydn, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Biographical information of the composer and program notes will be included for each piece conducted.