UNM CSWR John Donald Robb Archives
Center for Southwest Research
Four Collections
The John Donald Robb Archives at the UNM Center for Southwest Research is comprised of four distinct collections:
I. John Donald Robb Field Recordings
Listen to nearly 3,000 field recordings of traditional songs and dances from the American Southwest, South America and Nepal. These songs, collected by John Donald Robb from 1946-1979, form the nucleus of the John Donald Robb Archive of Southwestern Music.
The John Donald Robb Archives at the UNM Center for Southwest Research is comprised of four distinct collections:
I. John Donald Robb Field Recordings
Listen to nearly 3,000 field recordings of traditional songs and dances from the American Southwest, South America and Nepal. These songs, collected by John Donald Robb from 1946-1979, form the nucleus of the John Donald Robb Archive of Southwestern Music.
II. John Donald Robb Photograph Collection
This collection consists of portraits of John D. Robb and family, friends, musicians, conductors, singers and dancers. There are photos of orchestras, some in South America, Comanche dancers and Matachines performances in both New Mexico and Mexico. Additional photographs show Robb's electronic music equipment.
III. John Donald Robb Papers Collection
The multi-faceted Robb Papers Collection is arranged in three series: Personal and Professional Papers; Folk Music; and Compositions of John Donald Robb. The first two series include materials pertaining to Robb's publications, Hispanic Folk Songs of New Mexico and Hispanic Folk Music of New Mexico and the Southwest. The Personal and Professional Papers relate to Robb's work as an educator, author, lecturer, and composer. The series includes the following subseries: Biographical Materials; UNM Teaching Materials; Writings; Lectures; Composition Materials; Miscellaneous Concerts and Compositions; Programs of Robb Compositions; Correspondence; Transcriptions of Robb Reminiscences; Oversize Works/recordings Indexes; Miscellaneous Music Scores (Other than Robb). Correspondence related to Robb's work as a composer is interfiled with general and musical correspondence. Materials pertaining to Nadia Boulanger are found in this series. The Folk Music series relates to Robb's work as a collector of folk music. Subseries include General Research; Collected Notebooks; Oversize Folk Music Materials; Project Materials; UNM Teaching Materials; Lectures; Folk Music Archive; Hispanic Folk Music of New Mexico and the Southwest; Robb Folk Music Collection;Indexes, Ephemera; Vicente Mendoza; Miscellaneous Folk Music Materials. The third series, Compositions of John Donald Robb, includes music manuscripts. The manuscripts are original compositions dating from 1917-1989. The collection consists of 145 boxes (74.7 cu. ft.) + 1 oversize folder.
IV. John Donald Robb Musical Trust Records
The John Donald Robb Musical Trust records contain recordings, clippings, meeting minutes and correspondence documenting the business of the Trust. Included are edited versions of Robb's compositions commissioned by the Trust. The collection is arranged into four series. Multimedia: Recordings made of performances of Robb's works are kept in the multimedia series. The series also includes interviews with Robb and audio/video documents relevant to the Trust's work. Publicity: The publicity series includes materials used to advertise the work or the needs of the Robb Trust. Public relation items such as newspaper articles relating to the Trust's activities may also be found here. Administrative Papers: This series includes minutes from Trust meetings, Trust policies, bylaws, financial records, materials concerning the formation of the Trust, and correspondence to and from the Trust. Scores: The bulk of the collection is comprised of edited versions of Robb's compositions and compositions generated by the Robb Trust. Winners of the Robb Composition contests have their works stored here. Robb compositions edited by John J. Mitchell and Roger Jannotta, including full scores, individual parts, and (in applicable cases) piano score reductions are also found in this series.
Additional Collections
Also included in the John Donald Robb Archive of Southwestern Music are collections preserved by Robb’s associates. This list includes Hispanic music, Native American chants, music from South America and Europe, and oral histories. View the extensive list (pdf) below.