Special Collections
Thanks to the generosity of patrons, Hurley Music Library houses a number of Special Collections available for study and examination within the library:
Virginia Carlton Collection — West African Musical Instruments
The late Virginia Carlton was a Professor Emeritus in Mathematics from Centenary College of Louisiana. During her academic career she took many trips to Africa and returned with hundreds of items: artifacts, sculptures, and musical instruments. The artifacts and sculptures were given to the Meadows Museum of Centenary College, while the musical instruments and statues of musicians were donated to the Hurley School of Music. This collection, from Liberia and Ghana, is on display in the Hurley Music Library and includes thumb pianos, harps, rattles, drums, and xylophones. These instruments are currently being repaired through the generosity of long-time Shreveport Symphony percussionist Anthony Robinson and about one quarter of the collection has been restored in the past year.
Robert Murray Opera Collection
Robert Murray was the General Director of the Shreveport Opera from 1980 to 1996. He directed opera productions as a faculty member at the Eastman School of Music and Florida State University, as well as singing baritone for two seasons with the New York City Opera Company at the Boston Arts Festival. During his career he directed 124 opera productions for five opera companies. He donated his entire collection of scores and production notes to the Hurley School of Music where they are used on a daily basis.
David Redwine Opera Recordings Collection
David Redwine began collecting opera recordings as a young adult in Detroit, Michigan. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Redwine retired to his birth city and eventually decided to donate his phonograph recordings collection to the Hurley School of Music: "Through the years, that collection became my surrogate child, and you can only hold a child close to your breast for so long. You have to let them go out and experience the world." One of the rarest items in the collection is a Toscanini recording of Verdi's La Traviata.
Wayne Sanders Collection of Broadway Sheet Music
Wayne Sanders, a native of Haynesville, Louisiana, worked on Broadway as a pianist and vocal coach from the 1940s to the 1970s. During his time in New York, he actively collected Broadway sheet music and piano-vocal scores, as well as purchasing pre-existing collections of Broadway music. The Sanders Collection has sheet music and scores dating from the early 1900s and also includes selections from London musical theater productions, film musicals, and television shows.
Sanders was a frequent musical collaborator with Ethel Merman, Lena Horne, Judy Garland, Liza Minelli, Lucille Ball, and Bea Arthur. Several of the items in the collection are inscribed with personal tributes to Sanders, including a piano-vocal score of Cole Porter's Red, Hot and Blue signed by both the composer and Ethel Merman, the star of the original production. This score was from Miss Merman's personal collection.
We have a specific Collection Development Policy that explains our acquisition policy, including the acceptance of gifts.
