Seeking Serious Mary Garden Scholar

A couple of thoughts.

First, I would imagine the greatest thing would be if you found someone
willing to finish her work and publish it - there are a couple of specialty
publishing houses out there which do singer biographies,and you might make
inquiries of whether they are interested or know someone who might be . It's
a relatively small world.

Secondly, I agree with Alan that a public institution is by far the best way
to go as a depository if you can't find someone who might want to finish the
work, and there are a couple of possibilities. The Library for the
Performing Arts at Lincoln Center has a terrific collection of singer
materials, and might be the right source. If they don't have an interest, I
would be almost certain they'd have a reference to a place that might. I
know, for example, that the U of Texas at Austin had a great collection, and
still does, of materials, but, like all universities, in tough times they
have less money to spend on those materials. You are not asking for payment,
but you want the stuff properly catelogued and made accessible, and not
just sitting in a warehouse.

For purely national reasons, it would be great to keep the materials in this
country if you could, but surely someplace like Aberdeen, if they had
interest, would be fine as well. I do think it's worthwhile to make the
inquiries as to what these places (any of them) actually do with the
materials when they get them.

You are not asking, or course, but depending on what you have, there may be
some tax deductibility for the materials on donation - there's nothing wrong
with that if there is.

Again, you can write me privately if you want.

Best


wrote in message

> Hi;
> Before she died quite suddenly in 2002, my mother--in her sixties-- was
> an ABD Phd Musicology Candidate with Contemporary American Opera as
> her specialty at a prominent NYC University.
>
> When she died, she had done virtually all the research and part of the
> writing of awhat was to be her dissertation on Mary Garden.
>
> My 2 siblings and I are in possession of many boxes of her copious and
> well organized notes, many transcribed interviews (one with Mary
> Garden's nephew, I believe) literally hundreds of tapes of the
> interviews, special rare recordings, etc. She lived in NYC, travelled
> often to london to obtain original materials--she was serious.
>
> My siblings and I are looking for an equally serious Mary Garden/opera
> scholar who would be interested in our gift of all of these materials
> simply for the cost of shipping.
>
>
> Music, opera and, in particular, Mary Garden were some of my mother's
> truest and deepest passions.
> My brother sister and I are committed to find the fruit of her
> unfinished labors a good and worthy home.
>
> thank you for your consideration.
>
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Hello,

I am an opera scholar working on a PhD in musicology. I think I know who your mother was and have been trying to track down information on her research!

I would be very interested in looking at anything she was working on, if it is still available! I realize this message is many years old by now and you have probably found a home for the papers--

If this message finds its way to you, please email me at mightycello at yahoo.com

Thanks!
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