Rolland – Music and Performing Arts Library

Collection Information

Collection

Paul Rolland string music materials

Location

Cataloged music interfiled among Library’s circulating collection. Additional materials in the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music.

Provenance

Personal collection of violinist and School of Music faculty member Paul Rolland (1911-1977); presented to the University by his widow, Clara Rolland.

When acquired

December 20, 1990, with additional donations in 1991, 1992, and 1993.

Description

The donation of December, 1990 consisted of 1,278 items (133 books on music, 1,099 music editions, 46 sound recordings). Later donations included 20 additional books, 42 LP discs or sets, and 29 music editions, as well as multiple copies of pamphlets, wall charts, and the journal American String Teacher which were given away to string instrument students. The collection in the Music and Performing Arts Library is rich in pedagogical materials, string chamber music, and in repertory for the violin. Music editions are mainly European publications of the late 19th and 20th centuries, including a number of contemporary works with personal inscriptions to Rolland by their respective composers. Motion picture films and related materials documenting his String Research Project or illustrating specific playing technique are also at the Archives (see Series 2: Illinois String Research Project Films, c. 1964-1970 in the finding aid linked below). Paul Rolland was a faculty member of the School of Music from the late 1940s until his death in 1978. He was one of the founders of the American String Teachers Association, edited its journal, and organized the highly-acclaimed University of Illinois String Research Project designed to facilitate the improvement of string instruction methods for use with young children.

Access/Finding Aids/Bibliography

Paul Rolland papers have been processed and are housed at the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music. See the Paul Rolland Papers, 1939-83, 1986-87, 1992 Finding Aid.

A folder in the Collections File (“Rolland, Paul”) contains several detailed lists of the Rolland donation (see list below): a xeroxed copy of a handwritten register (items donated to the Music Library marked with an “x”); “Paul Rolland Collection of Music” (multiple copies) prepared in 1999-2000, categorized by genre (with several handwritten sheets of additions); “Rolland Film Inventory” compiled by Michael Fanelli, 1993, which also includes a listing of audio tapes and selected miscellaneous items. The Collections File folder also includes copies of correspondence relating to the donation and to the preparation of a special bookplate to be affixed to Rolland materials.

Any materials which have been fully cataloged may be accessed via the online catalog. Uncataloged string music scores have been interfiled among unprocessed string music in storage with a Rolland bookplate laid into each.

Rolland Donation List by category (PDF)

Index terms

Rolland, Paul; String pedagogy; Violin music