As part of an agreement reached last year, the Music Academy of the West will transfer its audio archives made between 1961 and 2001 to the Special Collections Department at the UCSB Library. The archives are made up of more than 500 recordings of orchestral performances, operas and faculty and student recitals.
“This signals a wonderful new collaboration between the Music Academy and the UCSB libraries. I am happy that we share a similar vision to preserve these materials for posterity and to enable people to use them for research or teaching,” Glenn E. “Gene” Lucas, UCSB executive vice chancellor said in a prepared statement.
The recordings will be accessible to the general public and researchers. The library staff has made a complete inventory of the recordings and has taken special care to ensure the preservation of the most fragile audio media such as early digital recordings and open-reel tapes.
The Music Academy of the West was founded in 1947 and is one of the nation’s premiere music schools. It is based in Santa Barbara and annually presents over 175 public events.