Frances McCollin papers, 1924-2007.

Format:

Other

Author/Creator:

McCollin, Frances, 1892-1960.

Contributor:

McCollin, Edward, 1858-1923.

Arnett, Edward McC.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Musicians--United States.

Musicians.

United States.

Women musicians--United States.

Women musicians.

Genre:

Manuscripts, American.

Concert programs.

Correspondence.

Notes (documents)

Sheet music.

Sound recordings.

Penn Provenance:

Gift of Edward McCollin Arnett, 2007.

Physical Description:

2 boxes (.4 linear feet)

Place of Publication:

1924-2007.

Biography/History:

Frances McCollin (1892-1960) was a Philadelphia composer and organist. She wrote 333 compositions, 93 of which were published during her lifetime. Despite being blind, or perhaps because of it, she showed a great appreciation and talent for music by the age of fourteen months. Edward McCollin, Frances McCollin's father, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the Penn Glee Club, in 1878. He acted as the president of the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia from 1910 through 1923 and played a major role in the musical education of his daughter. Edward McCollin Arnett graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1940, where he then went on to earn a PhD in chemistry. He is Frances McCollin's nephew.

Summary:

The Frances McCollin papers document some of the activities of the McCollin-Arnett family, including Frances McCollin, Edward McCollin, and Edward McCollin Arnett, with a particular focus on the music of Frances McCollin. The folder labeled "Correspondence" includes letters to and from Edward McCollin Arnett and interlocutors such as Eugene Ormandy (on the topic of Frances McCollin's death) and Alexander McCurdy of the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia as well as the "Siren song" newsletter from Women's Voices Chorus, Inc. A subset within this folder, set apart by its creator, holds material related to Frances McCollin's music, including letters, an article, information on royalty payments, and sheet music. The second folder contains notes written by Frances McCollin's father, Edward McCollin, about her early musical education, beginning when she was approximately fourteen months old. Following this there are thirteen pages of notes on Frances' training at approximately the age of five, in which Edward McCollin describes his daughter's talent as natural, stating that, "She required no further instruction but my once telling her" and that her lessons rarely exceeded ten minutes due to the strength of her natural abilities. Folder 3 holds three identical copies of a paper containing information on a 1964 international musical competition sponsored by the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia as a trustee of the Edward Garrett McCollin Fund for the Encouragement of Creative Work in the Higher Forms of Music. Folder 4 contains a photograph of four women labeled "Celebrating the 50th year of The Women's Committee of the Philadelphia Orchestra." The women depicted are labeled as: Mrs. Frances Wister, Mrs. Gazzam, Mrs. McCollin, and Mrs. Arnett. The fifth folder includes programs from various musical performances from the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia; the University United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; The Curtis Institute of Music in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia; and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Folder 6 holds three recordings: a cassette tape of "Snowflakes" by Frances McCollin, performed by the Women's Voices Chorus; a video cassette of the "DeMedio Concert of F. McCollin"; and a record of the "Mother Goose Toccata" No. 4 (from "Nursery Rhyme Suite") performed by Elisabeth Gittlen as part of The McCollin Society's recorded works of Frances McCollin. The folder labeled "Sheet music" has been separated due to the size of the materials and is located in drawer 50. It includes printed sheet music for three of Frances McCollin's pieces as well as four copies of a full score for Frances McCollin's piano quintet. The final folder houses a sign-in journal of visitors to Frances and Alice McCollin's home between 1924 July 11 and 1944 December 28. Notable appearances include Eugene Ormandy on 1938 October 30 and Marian Anderson on 1938 December 15. This collection may be of use to those who are interested in the Philadelphia community in the early to mid-twentieth century.

OCLC:

898216795