February 28, 2009

UPDATE: March 13, 2008

The uploading of reference books has been temporarily put aside in order to upload some of our LP Collection. This move is to allow for better sorting of our large collection of recordings (an estimated three thousand in total) in preparation for involvement in the Friends of the Library Sale this semester.

The large number of recordings in the Arts Ensemble Library creates a slightly more complex system of storing and labelling. Recordings are placed in various areas of the Library, with their locations listed in the website entry.

MARCH 19 ADDENDUM: The uploading of reference books has been completed.

Vocal Selections

Vocal selections in the Arts Ensemble Library are available in two main areas: the Vocal Section and the the Symphonic Choir Section. The Vocal Section is intended for the vocal ensembles of the School of the Arts, and also includes a subsection of Piano-Vocal music which is primarily piano reductions of major vocal solo works. The Symphonic Choir Section primarily houses non-classical works, as well as a smaller number of classical standards.

Full scores of vocal-orchestra works are available in the later half of the Esselstrom Score Collection; alternatively they can be sourced through the "Opera" label alongside the small number of piano-vocal selections.

As with symphonic selections, the use of the chronological labels (Rennaisance, Baroque, etc.) are available, though the use of the link "Older Links" may be necessary to skip through more recently uploaded sections. The use of the search engine in the upper left hand corner is an alternative option.

Symphonic Selections

Symphonic selections are available in the Art Ensemble Library's Symphonic Section as well as the collection of music of the South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestras.

The Symphonic Section is intended for use of the IUSB Philharmonic and other symphonic ensembles. Repertoire in this section ranges from music for small string orchestras to full operas.

The music in the SBYSO Section is owned by the South Bend Symphony Orchestras and hosted in by the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts. It is divided into two subsections: symphonic works and chamber music.

Full scores of symphonic works are available separately in the Esselstrom Score Collection.

To facilitate the specific needs of classical instrumental music, direct links have been made available to browse through music. Chronological labels are available for each of the major periods of music, as well as a separation of urtext and genre selections. Selections are ordered alphabetically and the use of the link "Older Posts" will lead to the next page of items. However, these selections are arranged first by section. Thus a search for Romantic-era music will first produce results in the Assorted Solo Music Collection, the Basch French Horn Collection, etc. before reaching symphonic selections. If this process proves too time-consuming, please try out the search engine in the upper left hand corner for more direct sourcing of materials.

Scores

The Arts Ensemble Library's collection of scores is almost entirely a donation from Dr Michael J. Esselstrom, retired faculty of the School of the Arts who conducted the IUSB Philharmonic for many years.

The score collection is divided into two subsections: symphonic repertoire, and music involving a vocal element such as operas and cantatas. Other scores, especially of symphonic repertoire, may be available in the Symphonic Section alongside the instrumental parts.

Jazz and Wind Selections

The Jazz and Wind Sections are intended for use of the Jazz and Wind Ensembles at the School of the Arts.

Unlike the other sections of the Arts Ensemble Library, the Jazz Section is unique in that it is ordered alphabetically by the names of the arrangers.

Smaller ensemble music for winds is also available, primarily in the collection of the South Bend Youth Symphony and the Basch Horn Collection and can be sourced under the labels "Chamber Winds" and "Brass".

LP Recordings

The Arts Ensemble Library hosts a large number of LP recordings, many of which have been donated to the School of the Arts over the years. Due to the extensive collection, subdivisions have been made to organize the collection, each with its own label in the side bar eg. "LP Chamber Music and "LP Piano". The collection is housed in various sections of the library, and much like all other files, links are available in each file entry to maps indicating their location.

Assorted Solo Music Collection

The Arts Ensemble Library owns a small collection of solo music which is ordered first by instrument, and then alphabetically by name of the composer. The order of the instruments is as following: Piano (method books followed by repertoire), Voice, Guitar, Percussion, Drums, Harp.

Next to the Assorted Solo Music Collection is a small collection of elementary music for piano or melody with piano accompaniment that is as present unsorted.

The David Basch French Horn Music Collection

The Arts Ensemble Library hosts a collection of music for French Horn donated by the widow of David Basch, a former faculty member of IUSB who taught the instrument.

As the main dedicated collection of music towards one instrument in the Arts Ensemble Library, and considering that it a fixed section, it is organized slightly differently compared to music for the university music ensembles.

There are two main sections. The first is of music placed in the same fashion as conductors' scores in the Reference Section. The second comprises music placed in folders, in most part due to the availability of multiple copies or multiple editions.

In each of these sections, the music is ordered with solo works first, and chamber music second. In this regard, the ordering is not completely alphabetical, but rather alphabetical per section. In the first section, there is the additional of method books. In the second section there is an additional selection of orchestral excerpts for French Horn, which are not listed here.