Special Collections
A large number of the collections in our possession relate to one person, most of whom had some connection to the Florida State University or its predecessor, the Florida State College for Women. Notable exceptions are the Allen Forte Theory Treatise Collection and the Ethan Allen Hitchcock Flute Music Collection.
Albert Tipton (1917-1997) was a flutist and composer who taught at FSU from 1968 to 1975. This collection contains several boxes of reel-to-reel recordings, mostly of himself, including recitals and rehearsals as well as a few commercial recordings.
Learn moreElla Scoble Opperman (1873-1969) was the first director of the School of Music at the Florda State College for Women from 1911, and its first dean from 1920 until her retirement in 1944. Opperman was an accomplished pianist and organist and served also as a vocal coach. As an administrator, Opperman established courses leading to the first degree programs at the School of Music. The music library holds a collection of her personal effects and papers; materials pertaining to her role as dean are mostly housed in Special Collections & Archives at Strozier Library.
Learn moreDale A. Olsen (1941- ) began teaching at the Florida State University School of Music in 1973, became a Distinguished Research Professor in 2001, and retired in 2008 as Professor Emeritus. This collection contains over 800 audio and visual items collected during Dr. Olsen’s career as a researcher and educator from 1965 to 2007.
Learn moreEdward Kilenyi, Jr. (1910-2000) was a Hungarian-American classical pianist and educator of great influence in the 20th century. He was a pupil, friend, and later colleague of Ernst von Dohnányi (1877-1960), Hungarian composer and pianist. Both men served on the faculty at Florida State University (Kilenyi 1953-83; Dohnányi 1949-60), and are considered two of the most influential musicians who ever taught at FSU.
Learn moreWiley L. Housewright (1913-2003) joined the faculty of Florida State University as a professor of music in 1947. He was appointed the third Dean of the FSU School of Music in 1966 and served until his retirement in 1980. The Housewright Archives contain many boxes of personal research, papers, manuscripts and drafts of Dr. Housewright's books about early Florida music. Dr. Housewright collected a number of volumes of collected sheet music in Florida and south Georgia in the course of research for his book A History of Music and Dance in Florida, 1565-1865.
Learn moreEwald Haun (1891-1939) and Kathryn Reece Haun (1899-1990?); Kathryn, an FSU alumna and Tallahassee resident, was an actress and singer, and her husband was a composer and conductor. The collection consists of 198 items, mostly manuscript scores and parts. Included are compositions by Ewald and Kathryn Haun as well as transcriptions and arrangements of works by other composers.
Learn moreJames Gunn was a former FSU faculty member and instructor of theory in the 1950s.
Learn moreErnst von Dohnányi (in Hungarian, Dohnányi Ernő) (1877-1960) taught piano and composition at FSU from 1949 until his death in 1960. By the time he came to FSU in 1949, he had an international reputation without peer.
Learn moreWilliam F. Cramer (1917-1989) taught trombone at Florida State University for more than 30 years, starting in the 1950s. He was a founding member of the International Trombone Association, and received their distinguished service award in 1987. Over the course of his distinguished career, he played a major role in the promotion and development of repertoire for his instrument.
Learn moreJohn Boda (1922-2002) was professor of theory, composition and piano at Florida State University, teaching from 1947-2001. Notable pupils include Ellen Taaffe Zwillich and David Ward Steinman.
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