Ross Lee Finney collection, 1938-1986

Links

• View catalog record
• View finding aid

Creator

Finney, Ross Lee, 1906-1997

Location

Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound

Extent

• 131 sound recordings + 4 videocassettes.
• 2 sound discs : analog ; 16 in.
• 102 sound tape reels : analog ; 7 in.
• 21 sound tape reels : analog ; 5 in.
• 4 sound tape reels : analog ; 10 in.
• 2 sound tape reels : analog ; 3 in.
• 4 videocassettes : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.

Access Restrictions

Access to original items is restricted. Advance notification is required for use.

Scope/Contents Note

Ross Lee Finney (1906-1997) was an American composer and teacher. Born in Wells, MN, he studied at the University of Minnesota with Donald Ferguson, in Paris with Nadia Boulanger,and at Harvard with Edward Burlingame Hill. He also studied with Roger Sessions (1935), Alban Berg (1931-1932), and Gian Francesco Malipiero (1937). Finney taughtat Smith College (1929-49) ; Mt. Holyoke College (1938-40); Hartt School of Music (1941-42), and Amherst College (1946-1947). He was a visiting lecturer at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (1948-1949), and later became a professor there (1949-73). During his time at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Finney served as chairman of the composition department, and established anelectronic music laboratory.

Biographical/Historical Notes

The collection contains works which display a wide varietyof Finney's compositional styles, as well as works by other composers such as Grant Beglarian, Alban Berg, Lee Eitzen, Arthur Honneger, Peter Mennin, Robert Oboussier, Francis Poulenc, Arnold Schoenberg, Wayne Slawson, and George Wilson. Prominent performers and conductors represented in the collection are: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Cleveland Orchestra; Howard Hanson; Gregg SmithSingers; Karel Husa; Karen Keys; John McCollum; Yehudi Menuhin; Philadelphia Orchestra; Gunther Schuller ; HarveySollberger ; Robert Willoughby and the Yaddo Orchestra. Because of Finney's close association with the University of Michigan, many of the university's performing groups are also represented in the collection.

Many recordings represented in this collection have never been commercially released.

Controlled Access Terms

• Finney, Ross Lee, 1906-1997.
• Composers -- United States.
• Music -- United States.

Additional Creator Name

• Finney, Ross Lee, 1906-1997. dnr