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U.S. Work Projects Administration Federal Music Project

|| About the Collection ||

The prime objective of the Federal Music Project (1935-1939) and the subsequent WPA Music Program (1939-1943) was to give employment to professional musicians registered on the relief rolls. The project employed these musicians as instrumentalists, singers, concert performers, and teachers of music. The general purpose of the Music Project was to establish high standards of musicianship, to rehabilitate musicians by assisting them to become self-supporting, to retrain musicians, and to educate the public in the appreciation of musical opportunities. Dr. Nikolai Sokoloff, former conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, was appointed Director of the Federal Music Project.

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|| Collection Details ||

General

Span Dates: 1935-1948
Bulk Dates: 1936-1941
Major Language(s): English
Repository: Music Division, Library of Congress

Physical Collection

Number of Items: 111190
Number of Containers: 272
Linear Feet: 91
Contents: agency reports, programs, catalogs, index cards, lists, correspondence, questionnaires, clippings, some music scores and parts, photographs
Processing History: Processed
Transfers: Other Federal Music Project materials can be found in the Federal Writers’ Project, which is housed in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, and in the Federal Theatre Project, which is in the Music Division. WPA recordings of performances of various musical groups sponsored by the Federal Music Project are housed in the Recorded Sound Division of the Library. Materials from the Federal Arts Project are housed in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library. Additional FMP materials are in the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 69, Washington, DC
Provenance: The U. S. Work Projects Administration Federal Music Project records were received by the Library of Congress on October 15, 1940. A survey and preliminary inventory were made of WPA materials stored at that time in the Library's warehouse in Middle River, near Baltimore, and recommendations were made for the disposition of the WPA materials. The different WPA projects (Federal Writers’ Project, Historical Records Survey, Federal Art Project, Federal Theatre Project, and the Federal Music Project) were dispersed among appropriate divisions of the Library. Some materials were transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

Access/Copyright

Access Permissions: Permitted, subject to PARR policies and procedures
Copyright Info: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html
Preferred Citation: The U.S. Work Projects Administration Federal Music Project, Music Division, Library of Congress