Performing Arts at the Library of Congress

11/02/2026

"What if you could look over a composer’s shoulder as they worked, watching melodies evolve and their musical ideas take shape? For many compositions, these creative decisions are lost to history or found only piecemeal. But in the manuscript of Amy Beach’s Violin Sonata, traces of that process have been hiding in plain sight—or, more accurately, beneath layers of paper—for more than a century." Learn more in this fascinating blog by Christopher Bolser and Paul Allen Sommerfeld. https://blogs.loc.gov/preservation/2026/11/amy-beach-pastedowns/?loclr=fbmus

11/01/2026

Call for Proposals: Scholars are invited to apply to present an American Musicological Society/Library of Congress lecture during the 2027/2028 academic year. Applications are due January 15, 2027, via the American Musicological Society (AMS). https://www.amsmusicology.org/events/lc-lecture/

The next AMS/Library of Congress lecture will take place December 1, 2026, at 7 pm: "“John Adams’s On the Transmigration of Souls and 9/11 Memorialization,” with Abigail Shupe, PhD. https://www.loc.gov/item/event-421699/ams-lecture-john-adamss-on-the-transmigration-of-souls-and-9-11-memorialization-abigail-shupe-phd/2026-12-01/?loclr=fbmus

10/31/2026

Applications for the role of assistant chief are due November 10!

The Music Division is pleased to announce a vacancy for Assistant Chief (GS15). Applications are due November 10, 2026 (extended from October 20, 2026). Starting salary range: $169,279-$197,200/year. This is a supervisory and telework eligible position (must reside in the metropolitan Washington, DC area).

https://www.usajobs.gov/job/887408800

Image: Billy Porter views performing arts collections with a Music Division staff member. March 2024, Shawn Miller/Library of Congress.

10/30/2026

It's almost Halloween! Here's a new blog about some of the creepier things in our collections (warning: there are plenty of puns):

"Everyone remembers their first time purchasing a plaster hand. Mine is a gripping story. I was in Weimar, Germany, and found Franz Liszt’s right hand in a gift shop. The incredulous look of the person at the register paled only in comparison to that of the agent screening my bag at the airport on the way home. Nothing shuts down the hum of activity like being loudly asked, “Sir, are you transporting any body parts?'" - David Plylar/Music Division

Image: Plaster cast of Erich Korngold’s hands. Erich Wolfgang Korngold Collection.

10/29/2026

The Library celebrated 55 years of "W***y Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" on Monday, October 26. We were joined by original cast members Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket), Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt), Paris Themmen (Mike Teevee), Rusty Goffe (Oompa Loompa), screenwriter David Seltzer, and Tommy McFly of NBC Washington. Special thanks to Jake Loewenthal and Jon Kalbfleisch for their performances.

The papers of the co-creator of the film's score, Leslie Bricusse, are held by the Music Division and National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. https://findingaids.loc.gov/repositories/15/resources/7121?loclr=blogmus

Photos by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress

10/28/2026

Nothing says Halloween like the macabre tale of Lizzie Borden and "The Fall River Legend." Enjoy the spooky tale via this new blog on designs for Agnes De Mille's ballet about Borden. The score of the ballet is by Morton Gould and we happen to have the manuscript, plus the Miles White costume designs.
https://blogs.loc.gov/music/2026/10/the-accused-lizzie-borden-and-fall-river-legend/?loclr=fbmus

Image: Costume design by Miles White for Agnes De Mille’s 1948 ballet “Fall River Legend.” Miles White Costume Designs, Music Division, Library of Congress.

10/27/2026

Have some wolfsbane ready to repel vampires when you research the collaboration between Kronos Quartet and composer Philip Glass to create a new soundtrack for the 1931 film Dracula. Glass wrote the music in 1998 for Kronos Quartet, who recorded it on the Nonesuch label and performed it internationally, including a 2016 screening at Bran Castle in Romania.
Image:
Kronos Quartet and Philip Glass at a film screening of Dracula at Royal Festival Hall, London, 1999, photographer unknown.
Records of the Kronos Quartet and Kronos Performing Arts Association, Box 386, folder 8, Music Division, Library of Congress.
https://ams.loc.gov/repositories/15/resources/6973?loclr=fbmus

10/23/2026

Maggie Condon, daughter of jazz bandleader and impresario Eddie Condon (1905-1973), and members of her family visited the Library earlier this month. Eddie's guitar currently on display in the Library's exhibit "The Declaration's Promise: A Revolutionary Idea."

https://blogs.loc.gov/music/2024/04/eddie-condons-gibson-guitar-finds-a-new-home-at-the-library/?loclr=fbmus
Image: Maggie Condon and members of her family, October 14, 2026. Courtesy of Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford.

10/22/2026

10/22/2026

"Follow me and you'll be / in a world of pure imagination," sings Gene Wilder in the classic film "W***y Wonka & the Chocolate Factory."

On Monday, October 26 at 6 p.m., the Library of Congress will host a celebration of "W***y Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" at 55 in the Coolidge Auditorium. The program will feature a panel discussion and Q&A with original cast members, a performance of excerpts from composer and lyricist Leslie Bricusse’s score, and a display of original materials from the creation of the film (5-6 p.m.). Washington 's Tommy McFly moderates a panel featuring Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket), Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt), Paris Themmen (Mike Teevee), Rusty Goffe (Oompa Loompa), and screenwriter David Seltzer.
Free, registration required: https://blogs.loc.gov/music/2026/10/celebrating-55-years-of-willy-wonka-and-the-chocolate-factory/?loclr=fbmus

Image: Members of the cast of "W***y Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971).