About the Book
Volume 2 of the two part collection Stories and Lessons from the World’s Leading Opera, Orchestra Librarians, and Music Archivists, explores the current trends and practices in the field of music performance librarianship. Featuring interviews and conversations from over twenty orchestra, opera, and ballet librarians and archivists working for some of the world’s leading performing arts and educational institutions from Europe and Asia, this book is a helpful resource to librarians, and archivists who need to manage artifacts in a variety of situations in the world of performing arts.
For music and library science professors, this serves as a useful teaching tool or reference material by allowing students to gain a glimpse into the profession of music performance librarianship. Finally, this book functions as a unique and important reference tool for all students who are considering a career in music performance librarianship or a profession in archives in the world of performing arts.
Table of Contents:
Foreword: Maestro Riccardo Muti (Music Director, Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Foreword: Patrick McGinn (MOLA President)
Foreword: F. Paul Driscoll (Editor in Chief, Opera News)
Introduction
Opera Ignites: Forging the Union between Librarians, Conductors, Répétiteurs, and Prompters in Arts; Wei-En Hsu
Chapter 1. Richard Payne, Librarian, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Chapter 2. Gordon Grant, Music Librarian, Scottish Opera
Chapter 3. Georgina Govier, Head of Music Library, Welsh National Opera
Chapter 4. Martyn Bennett, Head of Music Library and Resources, Glyndebourne Festival and Touring Operas
Chapter 5. James Halliday, Artistic Advisor and Librarian, Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras
Chapter 6. Inger Garcia de Presno, Orchestra Librarian, Berlin Philharmonic
Chapter 7. Michael Fritsch, Senior Librarian, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Chapter 8. Agnes Thiel and Vincent Marbach, Library Manager, Staatskapelle Dresden/Dresden State Opera
Chapter 9. Dr. Katharina Hötzenecker, Chief Librarian, Vienna State Opera
Chapter 10. Dr. Silvia Kargl, Historical Archives, Vienna Philharmonic
Chapter 11. Cesare Diego Freddi, Music Library Manager, La Scala Theatre
Chapter 12. Luca Logi, Music Library Manager, Artistic Direction, Fondazione Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Chapter 13. Virginia Giorgioni, Chief Music Librarian, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli
Chapter 14. Stefano Lazzari, Head of Music Library, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma
Chapter 15. Guido Ricci, Orchestra Librarian, Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia
Chapter 16. Guillaume Maessen, Orchestra Librarian, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Chapter 17. Jan-Pieter Lanooy, Librarian, Netherlands Bach Society
Chapter 18. Rachel Daliot, Orchestra Librarian, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Chapter 19. Mari Rautio and Juhana Hautsalo, Music Librarians, Finnish National Opera and Ballet
Chapter 20. Erik Hvitfeldt, Head of Music Library, Royal Swedish Opera
Chapter 21. Erik Hvitfeldt, Head of Archive, Royal Swedish Opera
Chapter 22. Liisi Laanemets, Music Librarian, Estonian National Opera
Chapter 23. Alastair McKean, Head of Library Services, Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Chapter 24. Nadia Myers, Orchestra Librarian, Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Chapter 25. Jennifer Fung, Music Library Administrator, and Peter Alexander, Music Librarian, Opera Australia
Chapter 26. Hiroshi Tanaka, Librarian, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan)
Chapter 27. Boram Kim, Orchestra Librarian, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
Chapter 28. Mei-lee Leung, Assistant Executive Officer (Music), School of Music, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
Conclusion
About the Author :
Patrick Lo is currently serving as the Director, International Library & Cultural Services Consultancy, Ltd. From 2012-2018, he served as Associate Professor at the Faculty of Library, Information & Media Science, the University of Tsukuba in Japan. He earned his Doctor of Education from the University of Bristol (U.K.), and has a Master of Arts in Design Management from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a Master of Library & Information Science from McGill University (Canada), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Mount Allison University (Canada).
Robert Sutherland recently retired as the Chief Librarian at the Metropolitan Opera where he served from 1993 to 2020. Prior to joining the Metropolitan Opera, he served as the Principal Librarian at Canadian Opera Company and Principal Librarian of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. He has served three terms as President of MOLA: An Association of Music Performance Librarians. In April, 2016 he was a featured speaker at the Music Performance Art and Neuroscience in Dialogue symposium in Tübingen, Germany.
Wei-En Hsu is Associate Professor at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and was awarded the Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in 2017. In recent years, Mr. Hsu has established himself as an early music specialist in Baroque opera and the art of recitative for pianists.Winner of the 2010 Los Angeles International Liszt Piano Competition, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from National University of the Arts, and Master of Music from The Julliard School and The Royal Academy of Music.
Russ Girsberger is the Librarian for the Naval School of Music in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is the author of A Manual for the Performance Library (Music Library Association Basic Manual Series); A Practical Guide to Percussion Terminology; Percussion Assignments for Band and Wind Ensemble; co-author of The Music Performance Library: A Practical Guide for Orchestra, Band, and Opera Librarians; Sourcebook for Wind Band and Instrumental Music; and co-editor of Insights and Essays on the Music Performance Library (all published by Meredith Music Publications). He has worked as a librarian with the United States Marine Band in Washington, D.C., the Percussive Arts Society, the New England Conservatory, and The Juilliard School.
Review :
I know music can save lives, heal deep wounds, unify communities and can bring real hope and comfort in the darkest hour. This is why I am an activist.
This two-volume set is of high value for anyone who is interested in understanding how orchestras work... those who would like a glimpse of how orchestras and opera companies operate and the people who drive their success will glean a tremendous amount of information from this text. The result is a remarkably global and holistic view of a very specific field... this two-volume set will provide a valuable primer for those who are considering exploring this career path.
Stories and Lessons from the World’s Leading Opera, Orchestra Librarians, and Music Archivists is precisely what it says it is: a series of thoughtful informational interviews with some of the foremost experts in the field. Patrick Lo, Robert Sutherland, Wei-En Hsu, and Russ Girsberger do an excellent job curating and editing these interviews conducted with industry leaders around the globe. This book aims to serve as a reference guide for people considering or currently in the field of music librarianship and to provide insights into different types of librarians in the field, as well as acknowledge these hardworking individuals whose contributions often go unnoticed.
Stories and Lessons from the World’s Leading Opera, Orchestra Librarians, and Music Archivists provides valuable information for those interested in learning more about performance librarianship as well as for those currently well into their career. Through the personal experiences of librarians of some of the world’s leading music ensembles, the reader is able to get a glimpse into the fascinating career of performance li- brarianship and how each librarian’s experience differs. This publication would be a great resource for any institution of higher education that offers a music program, especially those that have a music library, as well as for any institution that offers a master of library science degree.
Stories and Lessons from the World’s Leading Opera, Orchestra Librarians, and Music Archivists provides valuable information for those interested in learning more about performance librarianship as well as for those currently well into their career. Through the personal experiences of librarians of some of the world’s leading music ensembles, the reader is able to get a glimpse into the fascinating career of performance li- brarianship and how each librarian’s experience differs. This publication would be a great resource for any institution of higher education that offers a music program, especially those that have a music library, as well as for any institution that offers a master of library science degree.
