Introducing the Archives of the Philadelphia Orchestra: Stories from the Orchestra's Formative Years

This talk will introduce the breadth and scope of the 2021 landmark gift of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association and Academy of Music Archives to Penn Libraries.

Anna Juliar, processing archivist for the Orchestra collections, will provide an outline of the entire collection, touching on major areas of research value and the historical preservation this project entails. She will then introduce the first three areas of the collection that have already been cataloged and which are currently available for visitors to access in the Kislak Center’s reading room. These areas are: the formation of the Orchestra and its early leadership; the Orchestra’s extensive recording and broadcasting activities; and the Orchestra’s ambitious national and international tours.

Interested in a sneak peek before this talk? Get a behind-the-scenes look at the first processed materials on the Unique at Penn blog.