Stories and Lessons from the World’s Leading Opera, Orchestra Librarians, and Music Archivists, Volume 1

Patrick Lo is currently serving as the Director, International Library & Cultural Services Consultancy, Ltd. From 2012-2018, he served as Associate Professor at the Faculty of Library, Information & Media Science, the University of Tsukuba in Japan. He earned his Doctor of Education from the University of Bristol (U.K.), and has a Master of Arts in Design Management from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a Master of Library & Information Science from McGill University (Canada), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Mount Allison University (Canada).Robert Sutherland recently retired as the Chief Librarian at the Metropolitan Opera where he served from 1993 to 2020. Prior to joining the Metropolitan Opera, he served as the Principal Librarian at Canadian Opera Company and Principal Librarian of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. He has served three terms as President of MOLA: An Association of Music Performance Librarians. In April, 2016 he was a featured speaker at the Music Performance Art and Neuroscience in Dialogue symposium in Tübingen, Germany.Wei-En Hsu is Associate Professor at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and was awarded the Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in 2017. In recent years, Mr. Hsu has established himself as an early music specialist in Baroque opera and the art of recitative for pianists.Winner of the 2010 Los Angeles International Liszt Piano Competition, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from National University of the Arts, and Master of Music from The Julliard School and The Royal Academy of Music.Russ Girsberger is the Librarian for the Naval School of Music in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is the author of A Manual for the Performance Library (Music Library Association Basic Manual Series); A Practical Guide to Percussion Terminology; Percussion Assignments for Band and Wind Ensemble; co-author of The Music Performance Library: A Practical Guide for Orchestra, Band, and Opera Librarians; Sourcebook for Wind Band and Instrumental Music; and co-editor of Insights and Essays on the Music Performance Library (all published by Meredith Music Publications). He has worked as a librarian with the United States Marine Band in Washington, D.C., the Percussive Arts Society, the New England Conservatory, and The Juilliard School.

• Foreword: Maestro Riccardo Muti (Music Director, Chicago Symphony Orchestra)Foreword: Patrick McGinn (MOLA President)Foreword: F. Paul Driscoll (Editor in Chief, Opera News)IntroductionOpera Ignites: Forging the Union between Librarians, Conductors, Répétiteurs, and Prompters in Arts; Hsu Wei-EnChapter 1. Peter Conover, Principal Librarian, Chicago Symphony OrchestraChapter 2. Lawrence Tarlow, Principal Librarian, New York Philharmonic OPEN ACCESSChapter 3. Robert Sutherland, Chief Librarian (retired), The Metropolitan Opera (post-retirement interview)Chapter 4. The Metropolitan Opera’s 50th Anniversary Gala: A Conversation with Robert Sutherland, Chief Librarian OPEN ACCESSChapter 5. Peter Clark, Director of Archives, Metropolitan OperaChapter 6. Joshua Luty, Music Librarian, Houston Grand OperaChapter 7. Shelley Friedman, Orchestra Librarian, Washington National OperaChapter 8. Jay Rozendaal, Coach/Accompanist and Orchestra Librarian, Seattle OperaChapter 9. Melisandra Dunker, Music Librarian, Los Angeles OperaChapter 10. Carrie Weick, Orchestra Librarian, San Francisco OperaChapter 11. Clinton F. Nieweg, Orchestra Repertoire Proofreader/Editor/Researcher, Principal Librarian (retired), The Philadelphia OrchestraChapter 12. Karen Schnackenberg, Principal Librarian, Dallas Symphony OrchestraChapter 13. Jesse Levine, Music Librarian, Personnel Manager, Production Manager, Handel and Haydn SocietyChapter 14. Kira Wharton, Chief Librarian and Historian, “The President’s Own” United States Marine BandChapter 15. Kristen Butcher, Orchestra Librarian, The Glimmerglass FestivalChapter 16. Lisa Dempsey Kane, Principal Orchestra Librarian, The Juilliard SchoolChapter 17. Elaine Li, Orchestra Librarian, Curtis Institute of MusicChapter 18. Mallory Sajewski, Head of the Fennell Music Library, Interlochen Center for the ArtsChapter 19. Nick Jack Agliata III, Bassoonist and National Youth Orchestra of the United States Librarian Apprentice (2018)Chapter 20. Jane Cross, Music Archivist, Music Division, Library of CongressChapter 21. Wayne Vogan, Music Librarian, Canadian Opera CompanyChapter 22. Lucie Brosseau, Music Librarian, Les Violons du Roy (chamber orchestra) and La Chapelle de Québec (chamber choir)Chapter 23. Michel Léonard, Principal Librarian, Orchestre symphonique de MontréalChapter 24. Marcos Escalante, Orchestra Librarian, National Symphony Orchestra (Mexico)Chapter 25. Maria Elisa Pasqualini, Music Library Manager, Municipal Theatre of São PauloConclusion

I admire librarians’ work…they are a group of people who dedicate themselves to this artform. Musicians bring the music alive, but librarians keep the history of the institutions alive for the next generation.