The San Francisco Conservatory of Music's archives documents the century-old history of the Conservatory through the collecting of Conservatory publications, documents, manuscripts, photographs, recordings, and other items of permanent historical value to the Conservatory. For research assistance, please email  nepuvirf@fspz.rqhude.mcfs@sevihcra .

The archives are open during the Library's normal hours of operation. Please contact Library staff to schedule an appointment.

Donations

Do you have materials you would like to donate to the archives? Please review our Collection Development Policy to read about what we collect. Contact the archivist for more information, or to offer an item/collection to the archives.

Collections

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music archives collects materials that relate to the history of the Conservatory. Inventories for many of our collections are available by contacting the archivist. Not all collections are complete, and restrictions and permissions vary, so please contact the archivist with any questions.

• Annual Reports, 1972-2003
• Artist biographical files
• Board minutes (restricted)
• Catalogs, 1919-Present
• Faculty biographical files
• Papers of Conservatory Members
  • John Beckman, trustee
  • Ernest Bloch, president from 1925-1930
  • Ada Clement, founder
  • Albert Elkus, president from 1951-1957
  • Tomoko Hagiwara, faculty
  • Lillian Hodgehead, founder
  • ​Joan Gallegos, faculty
  • Kris Getz, trustee
  • Colin Murdoch, president from 1992-2013
  • Milton Salkind, president from 1966-1992
• News clippings, 1920s-Present
• Newsletters, 1924-Present
• Objects (artifacts)
• Oral Histories
  • John Anderson, Trustee
  • Elinor Armer, Composition Faculty
  • Patricia Berkowitz, Former Trustee and Director of Administration and Development
  • Robert Commanday (1922-2015), Music Critic
  • Jonathan Elkus, Son of Former President Albert Elkus
  • Joan Gallegos (1931-2014), Former Musicianship Faculty
  • Kris Getz, Trustee
  • Willene Gunn, Former Director of Opera Program
  • ​Bonnie Hampton, Former Chamber Music Faculty
  • Barbara Imbrie, Family of Former Composition Faculty Andrew Imbrie
  • Alden Jenks, Electronic Music and Composition Faculty
  • Warren Jones, Piano Alum
  • Peter Magadini, Percussion Alum
  • John McCarthy, Former Director of Pre-College and Extension
  • Paul Resnick, Former Director of Development
  • George Sakellariou, Former Guitar Faculty
  • Ramon Sender, Composition Alum
  • Conrad Susa (1935-2013), Former Composition Faculty
  • Robert Symmonds, Guitar Alum
  • David Tanenbaum, Chair of Guitar Department
• Historical materials relating to Conservatory Leaders
  • ​Ada Clement
  • Lillian Hodghead
  • Ernest Bloch
  • Albert Elkus
  • Robin Laufer
  • Milton Salkind
  • Colin Murdoch
• Performance calendars, 1972-Present
• Photographs
• Posters
• Press releases
• Programs
  • Of recorded Conservatory performances, 1969-Present
  • Of non-recorded Conservatory performances, 1917-Present
• Scrapbooks, 1917-1967
  • News clippings, programs and ephemera
• Sound Archives (Conservatory in-house performances)
  • The Conservatory's in-house recording collection dates back to 1967, and includes performances by faculty, students and guest artists, orchestra concerts, masterclasses, events and lectures. We have an ongoing audio preservation project, through which we are transferring our older analog recordings to digital format. Performers and composers from these recordings may request copies of their performances. See our Audio Digitization Project page for more information.

Looking for a recording you participated in? Contact the archivist to see if we have a copy in the archives.