Music (classical & jazz) & Music Technology: Special Collections and Archives
Image credit: BCU Assets
Birmingham City University holds a number special music collections and archive material, including:
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Archival Material in Curzon Library
The archives of Birmingham City University which includes those of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and held Curzon Library room C003.
- For more information about the Records and Archive Centre: University Archive
- There is a general outline of the collections in the guide to the Records and Archive Centre.
- There is a list of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire archive holdings
Highlights of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire archive include:
- Birmingham Composers Manuscript Collection
- The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire holds manuscripts by a number of Birmingham composers, notably Herbert Lumby.
- There is a partial catalogue by Michael Jones of this collection and an updated version
- There is also a list of the Herbert Lumby manuscripts.
- Sir Granville Bantock manuscripts and related material
The main collection of manuscripts by Sir Granville Bantock, Principal of the new School of Music in the Birmingham and Midland Institute 1900-1934, resides at University of Birmingham but the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire archive includes some manuscripts, related material donated by Lady Bantock and some of the books donated by Bantock to the Library of the School of Music.
Birmingham Flute Society Collection
The Birmingham Flute Society was founded in 1856 as the Birmingham Flute Trio and Quartet Society.
After the Society was disbanded in 1954 the collection was passed to the then Birmingham School of Music By John Slade in 1965 when the Birmingham Midland Institute Building in Paradise Street was closed and demolished.
A more detailed history by Roz Trübger may be found in:
Trübger, Roz (2013) : A historic predecessor to the BFS: The Birmingham Flute Society and its music. Pan: The journal of the British Flute Society, 32(2) 38-41
- There is a print copy of the Birmingham Flute Society Catalogue of concerted music 1894 in the Curzon Library.
- A PDF scan of that catalogue is available Image of Birmingham Flute Society catalogue with link to Library catalogue
- You may also find a PDF of Birmingham Flute Society Catalogue of concerted music 1894.
