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ACDA Archives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Not-So-Hidden Treasures
A CD A A r chiv es a t the U niv ersit y of Illinois Urbana- C hampaig n: N ot-S o -Hidden T r easur es

by Hilary Apfelstadt

tions Standing Committee. Dr. Latimer suggested some sources” tab for a complete description of
materials could be digitized, some disposed of (i.e., du- the holdings and a link to the University
plicates), and others donated to a university library. We of Illinois archives website. Scan the QR
2
also consulted with Dr. Christina Prucha. Dr. Latimer code to visit the digital archives.
recommended we invite Dr. Silantien to Oklahoma City On this website, the description of the
to examine the archives and help us decide how to man- collection reads as follows:
age the holdings. That visit took place in April 2021, re-
sulting in recommendations for what could be shredded Consists of correspondence, programs, lec-
(e.g., outdated financial records), what should be saved tures, photographs, research files, newsletters,
in the national office (e.g., materials related to ACDA newspaper clippings, sound recordings, meet-
conference history), and what should be saved in histor- ing minutes, awards, publications, music scores
ical archives (e.g., materials donated by well-known cho- and parts, and personal papers documenting
ral musicians such as Walter Collins and Elaine Brown). the careers of major American choral directors
We decided to keep the Division (now “Region”) and leaders of the American Choral Directors
Collection and the National Conference Collection in Association between the 1950s and 2000.
Oklahoma City, and to move materials pertaining to
specific choral conductors and conducting pedagogy to Detailed Description
the University of Illinois. Dr. Harold Decker, nation-
al president of ACDA from 1966 to 1968, founded the Record Group 1:
country’s first doctoral program in choral conducting Harold A. Decker Papers and Recordings,
there in 1958. 1 1902–2009
It seemed the most appropriate site to house the
ACDA archives; so, with the help of Dr. Andrea Solya, Record Group 2:
now director of choral activities at UIUC, I began dis- Colleen J. Kirk Papers and Sound Recordings,
cussions with Scott Schwartz, director and archivist for 1949–2003
music and fine arts. Because of the level of organization
already existent in the archives (thanks to Dr. Prucha), Record Group 3:
the proposal received a positive review, and by January Russell Mathis Papers,
2022, the materials were on their way. I am grateful to 1960–1977
the work that Dr. Brent Ballweg, then associate director
of ACDA, did to facilitate the move. Record Group 4:
L. Stanley Glarum Papers and Audio Recordings,
1930–1977
The Collection
Once the materials arrived in Illinois, Scott Schwartz Record Group 5:
and his assistants had considerable work to do to in- Morris D. Hayes Papers and Realia,
tegrate the materials into the collection there. Space 1956–1991
constraints mean that not everything is on site; when
someone wants to see something in the collection, one Record Group 6:
must make a formal request online so the materials can Elwood Keister Papers,
be retrieved and brought to the Sousa Archives space 1958–1995
on campus. That fact is clearly indicated on the website.
There are two ways to access a description of the mate- Record Group 7:
rials, either through the ACDA website (www.acda.org) Ferenc Farkas Collection,
or by going directly to the UIUC site. On the ACDA 1933–2001
website, look for “archives collections” under the “Re-

64 CHORAL JOURNAL March/April 2025 Volume 65 Number 7