Worcester Chapter AGO Music Collection
The Jean Davis Memorial Organ Library began in the 1990s with a bequest of organ music donated to the American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter. It was originally collected and stored at the Worcester County Ecumenical Council’s office, and later moved to Assumption College. But after a 1993 fire (no damage to the scores), it was moved temporarily to Pakachoag Church. In 1998, the Jean Davis Memorial Library Collection was created at the Holy Cross Fenwick Music Library situated in the Brooks Music Building and is accessible to Worcester Chapter AGO members as well as having access to the entire Fenwick Music Library. Organ and choral scores had accumulated from donations to the local chapter over the years, and throughout the 1997-8 guild year, negotiations were held to permanently house the WorcAGO collection in the Fenwick Music Library. Volunteers sorted and cataloged all the materials for easy access by all. We are grateful to Alan Karass, former HC Music Librarian, for his vision and energies in making this new home possible, and to Frank Corbin, who was WorcAGO liaison at the time.
Although the primary focus is on organ music scores, originally there were many other holdings in the collection:
- Choral Scores – large works as well as octavos (altho many are uncatalogued but sorted by composer)
- Hymnals – a large collection of common as well as some older uncommon ones
- Music Books & Reference Materials
- Magazine collections: The Diapason (1952-1992), The American Organist(1952-1995).
TAO (1995-2007) are available in the Music Library’s general collection
In 2023, the library was reorganized to integrate the organ scores into the Music Library’s stacks. This will allow finding scores and books more easily: for AGO members, related scores will be adjacent in the shelves; for other library users, the AGO holdings will be obvious and accessible.
Catalogued works can be discovered via the HC online library catalog.
We welcome donations of scores and books to the WorcAGO music library. Donations will be sorted for matching the needs of the collection, and duplicates may be further donated to students, or other organ libraries, or used for fundraising for WorcAGO Scholarship Fund.
Please consider donating any unusual or rare scores or books you may have that are not being used and you would like to get them in circulation! … or a bequest of your music library to WorcAGO.
The objectives of the organ collection are to provide scores that are:
- Rare or elsewhere unavailable
- Titles useful for research in a wide range of topics
- Scores used to compare editions for performance-practice
- Brainstorming for concert and service repertoire
- Standard classical repertoire available physically in our geography
We are indebted to those who have donated materials, a few are listed here:
Steve Long, Sally Slade Warner, David McKay, Donna Merrill, Tom Holland, Ron Stalford, Catharine Rogers, Muriel Booth, Wilma Vander Baan, Edith Payne, Brenda Fraser, Judy Ollikkala (books), William Nierintz, Walter Howe, Edith Roberts
2018 Snapshot of Accessions List (PDF)
Holy Cross’s Fenwick Music Library
The Fenwick Music Library was founded in 1978 and is located in the east end of Fenwick Hall. The goal of the library is to support the Music Department curriculum, and provide print and non-print music-related materials for the Holy Cross community.
Music scores, books, LPs, CDs, and DVDs are located in the Fenwick Music Library. The Music Library is equipped with all the necessary playback equipment, including compact discs players and DVD players.
Particularly noteworthy are the Music Library’s collections of scores and recordings of twentieth-century composers, world music recordings, and composer biographies. The Library’s collection includes scores and recordings of the major works from the Western music repertoire. The Music Library owns many of the authoritative editions of significant composers collected works, such as Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart.
TYPICAL HOURS (during the school year)
(always contact the library prior to visiting to make sure it is open)
- Sunday 1:00 p.m. – 11 p.m.
- Monday-Thursday 8:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
- Friday 8:30 a.m.- 9 p.m.
- Saturday 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Summer hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
DIRECTIONS: Take Route 290 to Exit 11, College Square. From the NORTH, stay to the left on the exit ramp for Route 12 North and then bear right immediately before the light and proceed up College Street. From the SOUTH, bear right after the exit ramp on to College Street. . Proceed up the hill to gate 7, past the main gate of the campus. Enter through gate 7 and parking is available in the Hogan lot on the right. The Music Library is located in Fenwick 128A, the main academic building on campus. (Walk down the stairs to the right of the Hogan building)
Related links & information:
2022 Contact Robert Simon, music librarian