Composers in the Collections

Open House ▪ Installations ▪ Exhibitions

Olin Library – 252 Church Street

As part of NuMusWes24, explore the depth and breadth of Wesleyan’s music collections and installations: John Cage’s books and papers, African musical instruments, medieval manuscripts and early printed music, graphic and textual scores, and archives, recordings, and images of experimental music at Wesleyan, including recordings of the February 1974 performance of Empty Words and Etcetera in a newly-opened Crowell Hall.

Images: Images (from left): Detail of Anthony Braxton’s Syntactical Ghost Trance Music No. 254, Terri Hron performing in the library stacks during Hidden Volumes 2020, detail of John Cage’s Atlas Eclipticalis

COLLECTION OPEN HOUSE ▪ May 10 4:45-6pm

Medieval manuscripts, early printed music, artists’ books on music, archival photos and documents
▪ 1st floor, Davison Reading Room (Special Collections & Archives)

Graphic and textual scores, archival recordings, LP/CD box sets, books/scores/recordings by Wesleyan composers
▪ 3rd floor, Music Library Reading Room (World Music Archives & Music Library)

INSTALLATIONS ▪ May 10-12

Held Music (Charlie Kauffman ’24)
▪ 1st floor lobby and 2nd floor balcony

Minute/Year (Kata Kovács and Tom O’Doherty)
▪ Main stairwell, landing between 2nd and 3rd floors (activates daily at 8:24 pm)

February 1974: Empty Words and Etcetera (John Cage)
▪ 3rd floor, Music Library Seminar Room

EXHIBITION

Finding the Spirit of Inanga: A Gallery of African Musical Instruments (Chance Kinyange Boas, MA ’25)
▪ Ground floor display cases
▪ 1st floor east corridor (video display)
▪ 3rd floor outside of Music Library

wma@wesleyan.edu