Collection Guides

The personal papers of American saxophonist, clarinetist, and educator John D. LaPorta (1920-2004), who taught at Berklee College of Music from 1959-1985. LaPorta's papers include compositions and arrangements, teaching materials, correspondence, clippings, programs, assorted writings, photographs, awards, and performance recordings collected by LaPorta over the course of his career as a performer and teacher.

The Donald Bacon papers represent the work of journalist and photographer Donald Bacon, who documented the jazz scene in New England between 1970 and 1997. The collection includes writings, clippings, promotional material, and ephemera created and compiled by Bacon; incoming and outgoing correspondence to jazz musicians, agents, and other correspondents; photographs of  musicians; and recordings of interviews with musicians and concerts on audio cassette.

Collection of photographs compiled by Alma Berk during her tenure as Berklee’s first publicity officer. Images document campus events, commencement, faculty, staff, students, alumni, visiting artists, and other snapshots of the College from its founding through the mid 1980s, and are the only known comprehensive photographic collection of Berklee during this time. 

Memorabilia compiled by Franklin McGinley about Duke Ellington and the rise of swing music, including a scrapbook, clippings, and commemorative materials. Selected materials have been scanned and are available online.

Compositions, audio recordings, and other materials created and collected by vibraphonist and Latin jazz composer Bobby Vince Paunetto ‘73. Additional papers include publicity-related correspondence, composition lists, and coursework.

Correspondence, coursework, and memorabilia produced and collected by Bert Henry and Dr. Jerome Gross, as students and proponents of the Schillinger System of Musical Composition invented by Russian composer and theorist Joseph Schillinger. A digitized version of this collection is available online and additional archival materials on the Schillinger System may also be found in the Lawrence Berk papers on the Schillinger System (BCA-007). 

Multiple binders containing notes, formulas, and other figures compiled and created by Lawrence Berk, founder of Berklee College of Music, likely produced in the 1930s as a result of Berk’s private study with Joseph Schillinger, creator of the Schillinger System of Musical Composition. These papers presumably contain the foundation of Berklee’s early curriculum. A digitized version of this collection is available online and additional archival materials on the Schillinger System may also be found in the Jerome Gross and Bert Henry papers on the Schillinger System (BCA-006). 

This collection consists of primarily commercial recordings circa 1997-2013 on compact disc featuring Berklee alumni collected by Berklee College of Music's Office of Alumni Affairs. Playback of most items is restricted.

Concert programs generated by Berklee College of Music’s Concert Operations department, known colloquially as the Concert Office. Events include student, faculty, visiting artist, and professional performances in the following campus venues: Lawrence and Alma Berk Hall, Oliver Colvin Hall, David Friend Hall, The Red Room at Café 939, and the Berklee Performance Center.

Pedagogical arrangements of popular music and jazz standards created and/or compiled by pianist, Berklee faculty member, and alumnus Dean Earl as teaching aids for Piano department courses in harmony and piano performance. Digitized versions are available online.

This collection comprises the audiovisual recordings and associated transcripts of interviews conducted by the Berklee Oral History Project, an ongoing program first launched in 1998to chronicle the rich and diverse history of Berklee and the Boston music scene from those who have lived, shaped and defined it. Selected interviews are available online.

Materials created and/or compiled by author James Goss over the course of writing the books Vinyl Lives I and Vinyl Lives II, whichdocument the perspectives of various independent record store owners and collectors regarding the rise, decline, and resurgence of record sales. Materials include the author's research files: interview outlines, recordings, and transcripts; handwritten chapter outlines; project notes; biographical information; correspondence; as well as copies of Goss's books and other writings.

Materials collected and organized by Alma Berk during her tenure as Chief Public Affairs Officer (1959-1994), including press clippings and releases, photographs, institutional reports, files on faculty and students, promotional materials, college publications and curricular material, and other records documenting the college's first 50+ years.

Personal and professional material compiled by and about Lawrence, Alma, Lee, and Susan Berk from the 1920s through 2019, representing two generations of Berklee leadership (1945-2004): assorted Berklee documents and ephemera; artifacts and awards presented to members of the Berk family in recognition of their service and accomplishments; other professional records or tributes; and scrapbooks, photographs, and audiovisual recordings capturing nearly 100 years of family memories and Berklee experiences.

Photographs, negatives, slides, and other promotional materials produced by or for Berklee's Communications office documenting Berklee buildings, student life, selected individuals, and campus events from the late 1990s to early 2000s.

This collection contains 700 audio reels created and/or collected by the Music Production and Engineering (MP&E) department at Berklee College of Music. Recordings include faculty and student projects, visiting artist clinics, master classes, lectures, annual commencement concerts and ceremonies, and selected student performances.

Audio and video recordings of Berklee College of Music events from campus venues including the: Berklee Performance Center, Lawrence and Alma Berk Recital Hall, Steve Heck Room, David Friend Recital Hall, Red Room, and Stan Getz Library and Media Center. The sources of these recordings include Berklee’s Concert Office, Video Services, and the Stan Getz Library and Media Center.

Approximately 3,900 video recordings of Berklee clinics, concerts, and other special campus events spanning 1979-2005 (primarily 1985-2004) recorded by the Berklee College of Music Video Services office. 

Wayne Wadhams (1946-2008) was a founding member of the Music Production and Engineering department at Berklee College of Music, where he taught from 1982-2007. This collection includes both teaching materials as well as records from Wadhams’ Boston Skyline label.

Notes, papers, and teaching materials---including scores, articles, recordings, and other ephemera---by or about Duke Ellington compiled by Jeff Friedman (BCM '79), guitarist and professor of Jazz Composition.

This collection comprises the work of sound engineer Ed Williams and photographer Ruth Williams, who together documented the New England jazz scene for over 15 years. Materials include multi-track audio recordings of live performance and related indices by Ed Williams; photograph books by Ruth Williams; and a Yamaha audio workstation.

Files collected by Berklee College of Music Assistant Vice President for External Affairs Rob Hayes, including institutional reports, press clippings, college handbooks and publications, and a few alumni recordings.

Teaching materials created and compiled by former College faculty member and chair of Harmony, Barrie Nettles (BCM '69). Materials include workbooks, exams, and instructional recordings for Harmony, Arranging, and Ear Training courses.

Musical manuscripts, photographs, book drafts, and other personal materials belonging to lyricist Don George (1909-1987).

College campus event recordings on quarter-inch audio tape from approximately 1969 to 1994, most likely produced or compiled by the Concert Operations department. Recordings include clinics, master classes, concerts, opening convocation, and commencement ceremonies.

Recordings on audio and video cassettes, compact disc, and audio reel collected by the longtime Berklee College of Music Woodwind department chair and faculty member Bill Pierce.

For 52 years, Norm Nathan (1926-1996) was a disc jockey and talk show host on various Boston-area radio stations with a penchant for jazz. From 1957 - 1968 Nathan hosted “Sounds in the Night” on WHDH-AM and beginning in 1984 he hosted all-night talk show weekends on WBZ-AM. Programming included jazz performances as well as insightful interviews with musical legends such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sarah Vaughan. This collection consists of selected audio interviews with notable jazz performers, collected from "Sounds in the night" hosted by Norm Nathan and broadcast on WHDH radio in Boston from the late 1950s into the 1970s.

This collection is comprised of digital copies of the Music Business Journal, dating from the origins of the publication in 2005 - 2013. The Music Business Journal, published at Berklee College of Music, is a student publication overseen by the Music Business/Management department that serves as a forum for intellectual discussion and research into the various aspects of the music business.

The Berklee Alumni Composers Collective was founded by Frank E. Warren ‘76. This collection consists of hard-copy scores for works performed at recitals put on by the Berklee Alumni Composers Collective.

This collection consists of rare popular music periodicals compiled by Berklee's Stan Getz Library under the guidance of former Dean of Learning Resources Gary Haggerty. The extent of the collection is approximately 511 issues spanning the years 1929 - 1971 and featuring the following titles: The Broadside, Broadside (Boston), Broadside (NY), Jazz, Jazz and Pop, Jazz Quarterly, and Metronome.

The personal papers of multi-instrumentalist, Berklee alumnus, and former Berklee faculty member John McGann (1960-2012). McGann’s papers include transcriptions, compositions, teaching materials, and orchestral arrangements created by McGann over the course of his career as a performer, educator, and owner and operator of The Original Custom Transcription Service.

The Collection of five early rock and roll 78 rpm records dating from 1948-1951, highlighting the early years of rock and roll and R&B music in the United States.

The personal papers of Hungarian-American violinist, violist, composer, conductor, and educator Tibor Pusztai (1946-2016), who taught at Berklee College of Music from 1994-2015. Pusztai’s papers include published and unpublished compositions and arrangements, teaching materials, correspondence, clippings, and programs. Audiovisual formats include CDs, DVDs, cassettes, and reel to reel tape. Please note: this collection has been minimally processed.

The personal papers of American saxophonist, educator, and NEA Jazz Master David Liebman (1946-). Liebman's papers include published and unpublished compositions and arrangements, over two thousand individual pieces of audiovisual material, posters, clippings, photographs, and other memorabilia from Liebman’s career that spans almost fifty years.

This collection contains several original charts from Woody Herman and his various big bands. Composers and arrangers of note include Alan Broadbent, Alf Clausen, Tony Klatka, and Dave Lalama, among others. Many of the charts in this collections are originals with added pencil annotations.

This collection has been collated from a number of different sources, primarily the Berklee Office of Public Information records by Alma Berk (BCA-013) and a donation from Berklee's Vice President for Academic Affairs/Vice Provost, S. Jay Kennedy. The bulk of the collection are course catalogs for student registration but also contains other publications put out by Berklee College of Music, such as newsletters, convocation reports, and prospectuses. The course catalogs cover 42 of Berklee's first 59 years of operation, and these catalogs provide great insight into both the roots and growth of Berklee's curriculum.

The personal papers of American saxophonist, composer, and educator Laurdine Kenneth “Pat” Patrick, Jr. (1929-1991). Patrick’s papers include published and unpublished compositions and arrangements, teaching materials, correspondence, clippings, programs, and photographs that reflect Patrick’s career as a musician with Sun Ra’s Arkestra, a theatrical composer, and the leader of the Baritone Saxophone Retinue. Note: Materials within this collection may be restricted.

This collection is comprised of press releases distributed by Media Relations, press clippings about Berklee, news articles about Berklee alumni, and news media clippings about Berklee on VHS and DVD. The Berklee College of Music Media Relations records are notable for their ability to provide details about campus events, such as who performed and where performances took place. It is also the primary collection for information about Berklee from the mid-2000s through the 2010s.

This collection contains materials relating to Berklee Today, Berklee College of Music’s alumni magazine. Materials include photographs, letters to the editor, and drafts of magazine articles.

This collection primarily contains recordings on VHS and audiocassette from the 1980s-1990s produced and/or compiled by Berklee College of Music's Career Resource Center as reference resources for students and faculty, including Career Center events, visiting artist clinics and interviews, workshops, lectures, and presentations.

Parts and scores for three overtures composed by Berklee College of Music alumni, commissioned for and performed at the Berklee 60th Anniversary Concert on January 28, 2006.

This collection comprises the original vinyl recordings and printed study scores for the Jazz in the Classroom series produced from 1958-1976 by Berklee School (later College) Music faculty member Herb Pomeroy and administrator Robert Share. The educational series featured music composed, arranged, and performed by Berklee students to demonstrate jazz writing and performance techniques and to showcase the outstanding students of the day. The fully digitized collection is available online.

Materials created and compiled by Benedict J. Pullo, Jr. (1906-1996) in the course of his career as a musician, composer, bandleader and educator, primarily original compositions and arrangements, copyright documentation, audio recordings on tape, clippings, and ephemera.

The papers of American vibraphonist and Berklee faculty member Dave Samuels (1948-2019) primarily pertain to Samuels's performance and recording activities between the 1970s and 2010s. Materials include scores and charts, commercial and unpublished recordings, music studies and teaching materials, and biographical material and ephemera.

The papers of American composer, poet, artist, and craftsman Renick E. Ross (1940-2012) primarily pertain to Ross's composing activities between the 1960s and 2011. Materials primarily include unpublished manuscripts, unpublished sound recordings, and biographical material.

Photographs documenting events, activities, and personnel of Berklee College of Music’s Office of International Programs and other early international outreach initiatives, including Berklee on the Road programs; Berklee International Network (BIN) schools; BIN Summits; and International Programs faculty, staff, and event participants.

Records compiled by Tom Plsek, professor of trombone (1972-2013) and Brass department chair (1989-2013), relating to the activities of the Berklee College of Music Brass department, formalized in 1989, with additional material maintained by Plsek while chair of the trombone department prior to its integration. Material primarily includes programs, circulars, and correspondence for events such as Sackbut Week and Windsday, visiting artist clinics, student recitals, and conferences.