Andre Singer (1907-1996) Collection
RG 10.11
Summary Information
- Repository
- Sarah Lawrence College Archives
- Creator
- Singer, Andre, composer
- Title
- Andre Singer (1907-1996) Collection
- ID
- RG 10.11
- Date [inclusive]
- undated, 1907-1996
- Extent
- 3.0 linear feet 1 record carton, 1 letter half box, 1 legal half box, 1 flat box, digital objects
- Language
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Sarah Lawrence College Archives 2001-2004
Sarah Lawrence College Archives1 Mead Way
Bronxville, NY, 10708
914-395-2480
archives@sarahlawrence.edu
Revision Description
Finding Aid entered in Archivists' Toolkit by Emma Cameron September 2013
Conditions Governing Access note
The collection is open to researchers without restriction.
Acquisition note
George and Beth Wolf, close friends of Andre Singer, donated the collection in 2000. Note: some of the musical scores in the collection were donated by the Sarah Lawrence College Music Library in August 2004. Also includes accession 2008-002 from Norma Dolan.
Processing Information note
Processed January 2001 by Valerie Park; finding aid updated and additional materials processed July and August 2004 by Sarah Crossley. Additional material added and finding aid updated by Abby Lester, January 2008.
Digital objects were added in 2013 by Abby Lester as a result of scans sent to the SLC Archives by the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.
Biographical note
Andre Singer was born November 1, 1907 in Hungary to Dr. Simun and Elsa Singer. He studied music composition in Vienna at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts (Akademie fuer Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Wien), graduating in 1927. Andre furthered his studies in piano at the Vienna Professional School of Higher Learning of Music and Performing Arts (Fach Hochscule fuer Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Wien) from 1927 through 1931 as a student of Paul Weingarten. In the early 1930s, Singer co-founded the Literatur am Naschmarkt cabaret in Vienna. Under the alias “Otto Andreas,” Singer composed works for the cabaret which were often censored for their anti-Nazi content. In the mid 1930s, Andre served in the Royal Army of Yugoslavia at the Officer’s School in Sarajevo. From 1936 through 1938, he worked in Paris and London as an accompanist and solo pianist. While in Paris, Singer met Lucie Ros, whom he married on August 2, 1938, the day before they immigrated to the United States.
Andre and Lucie took up residence in New York, where Andre procured employment as an accompanist and composer. From 1939 through 1942, he worked as the music director of the Chekhov Theatre Studio in Ridgefield, Connecticut. In 1944, Andre was drafted into the U.S. Army and served overseas in Noumea, New Caledonia until his honorable discharge in 1945. In 1946, Andre Singer joined the Sarah Lawrence College music faculty, where he taught until his retirement in 1977. In addition to teaching music theory, composition, and piano at Sarah Lawrence, Singer continued to compose across a wide spectrum of musical forms. Andre Singer died on November 1, 1996.
Scope and Contents note
The Andre Singer Collection consists of four boxes divided into five series. Original documents such as birth certificates and passports, as well as his U.S. and Yugoslavian Army papers and memorabilia make up a significant part of the collection. Copies of Singer’s unpublished manuscript “Musical Thought and Organization: An Introduction to Musical Analysis” are included. Original programs for musical concerts Singer took part in span from 1928 and 1930, digitally, and 1931 to 1996 in hard copy, documenting his active involvement in music performance and composition. Texts for scores composed by Singer are also available. Personal and professional correspondence makes up a majority of the collection and is filed by subject as well as the name of the second party, depending on the subject matter at hand. Letters from family, friends, musical organizations, Sarah Lawrence faculty and other academic institutions are located throughout the collection.
Some of the documents included in the Singer collection are composed in German, French, and Italian; when available translations are filed with the original documents.
Series Description
Series I. Personal Papers, n.d., 1907-1996 consists of original documents such as an original birth certificate, report cards from Singer’s schooling in Vienna, Austria, identification cards from the Yugoslav Army, his marriage certificate as well as his naturalization certificate. Correspondence in this series consists of personal correspondence with family members, former students, and friends. Oversized folders containing Singer’s birth certificate, correspondence with Dr. and Mrs. Singer, report cards from the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, and miscellaneous report cards are filed in box 3.
Series II. Professional Papers, n.d., 1931-1996 contains correspondence with literary agents and several academic institutions. Newspaper clippings from the United States, Italy, Germany, Vienna and France documenting Singer’s professional accomplishments are also available and translated. Set lists and composition lists are also included as is Singer’s unpublished manuscript, “Musical Thought and Organization: An Introduction to Musical Analysis.” In addition, texts for several of Singer’s compositions are included as well as original programs documenting the significance of Singer’s career as a composer and performer. Oversized folders containing Singer’s Evening Acting files, Programs from 1946 to 1959 and Programs from 1960 to 1996 are filed in box 3.
Series III. United States Army, n.d., 1944-1945 is a small series containing correspondence from the American Red Cross, an Honorable Discharge certificate, Infantry Training Certificate, newspaper clippings and military ribbons. Oversized folders containing Singer’s Concerts in Noumea, New Caledonia and a wartime article by the South Pacific Daily News entitled “Victory!” are filed in box 3.
Series IV. Sarah Lawrence College, n.d., 1947-1996 is largely comprised of correspondence with other Sarah Lawrence Faculty members and Trustees. Included in the correspondence are teaching contracts, wage increases, Office of Publications forms Singer filled out to document yearly projects and agendas. These documents span the entire length of Singer’s career at Sarah Lawrence and offer researchers a glimpse into Singer’s career as both a musician and a teacher. A few course descriptions are also available as well as speeches and lectures given by Singer at Sarah Lawrence for such events as Convocation and Graduation.
Series V. Post-Mortem Supplement, 1996 consists of correspondence concerning the death of Andre Singer.
Related Materials
See also
Andre Singer Photograph Collection and Audio Visual Collection where Reel to Reel Recordings: “Alcottiana” (University of Illinois) and “Symphony #3” (Oklahoma City Symphony) are housed.
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
- Sarah Lawrence College. Faculty.
- Sarah Lawrence College. Music Department.
Genre(s)
- Birth certificates
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Manuscripts (document genre)
- Scores
- Speeches
Personal Name(s)
- Aks, Harold, 1921-2000
- Chekhov, Michael, 1891-1955
- DeCarlo, Charles R
- DeLay, Dorothy, 1917-
- Graham, Ross
- Haines, Edmund
- Hauser, Richard
- Ilchman, Alice Stone, 1935-2006
- Lindorff, Joyce, 1950
- Lipkin, Seymour
- Mattfeld, Jacquelyn A.
- Raushenbush, Esther
- Slonim, Marc, 1894-1976
- Taylor, Harold, 1914-1993
- Varese, Edgard, 1883-1965
- Ward, Paul L., 1911-2005
- Wentworth, Kenneth
Subject(s)
- Composers
- Immigrants - United States.
- Jews - United States.
- Music - Instruction and study.
- Violin and piano music - Scores
Collection Inventory
Series I. Personal Papers | ||||
| Title | Carton | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Biographical Information undated, 1952, 1957 | 1 | |||
| Title | Oversize | |||
Birth Certificate Transcripts 1907 | 3 | |||
| Title | Carton | |||
Correspondence: Uta Berghof 1996 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Private Frank Bielecki 1944 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Susan Bingham 1992 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Michael Chekhov undated, 1942 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Dictionary of International Biography undated | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Richard Hauser 1948 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Joyce Lindorff 1992-1996 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Seymour Lipkin 1996 | 1 | |||
| Title | Half-box | |||
Correspondence: Dr. and Mrs. Singer 1931, 1934 | 3 | |||
| Title | Carton | |||
Correspondence: Edgar Varese 1958 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Marva (last name unknown) 1935 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Miscellaneous undated | 1 | |||
Identification: Driver's License, Williams Residence undated, 1991 | 1 | |||
Identification: Federation Austria 1936 | 1 | |||
Identification: French Identification Request Receipt 1937 | 1 | |||
Identification: Royal Army of Yugoslavia 1934-1935 | 1 | |||
Identification: University of Vienna 1925-1926 | 1 | |||
Identification: Vienna Municipal Streetcars 1929-1930 | 1 | |||
Identification: Yugoslav Federal Railways 1938-1942 | 1 | |||
Identification and Report Card: University of Vienna 1925 | 1 | |||
Identification and Report Card: Vienna Professional School of Higher Learning of Music & Performing Arts 1927-1931 Digital Object Available | 1 | |||
List of Faculty in Vienna undated Digital Object Available | ||||
| Title | Carton | |||
Marriage Certificate 1938 | 1 | |||
Obituaries and Death Certificate 1996 | 1 | |||
Passport 1938-1944 | 1 | |||
Poems undated | 1 | |||
Postcard: Royal Yugoslavian Army 1934 | 1 | |||
Property Deed 1962, 1985 | 1 | |||
| Title | Half-box | |||
Report Card: Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna 1927 | 3 | |||
Report Card: Miscellaneous 1914-1925 | 3 | |||
| Title | Carton | |||
United States Army Certificates 1945 | 1 | |||
United States Certificate of Literacy 1947 | 1 | |||
United States Naturalization Certificate 1944 | 1 | |||
Who's Who 1942 | 1 | |||
Series II. Professional Papers | ||||
| Title | Carton | |||
Clippings: American Newspapers undated, 1939-1996 | 1 | |||
Clippings: English Newspapers 1938 | 1 | |||
Clippings: French Newspapers 1937-1938 | 1 | |||
Clippings: German (and Austrian) Newspapers undated, 1934-1937, 1956 | 1 | |||
Clippings: Italian Newspapers 1938 | 1 | |||
Concert Set Lists 1944 | 1 | |||
Copyright Certificate: "Here Comes Tomorrow" 1943 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: American Viennese Group, Inc. 1940 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Austrian Radio Network 1958 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Baldwin, Todd, & Lefferts 1943 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Dr. Bergman undated | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Berkshire Music Center 1952 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. 1973 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Cambridge Drama Festival 1959 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Luna Carne-Ross (Wolf) 1967, 1970, 1996-1997 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: The Chekhov Theatre Studio, Inc. 1940-1942 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: City College of CUNY 1965 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: "Current Musicology" 1971 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: The Diller-Quaile School of Music, Inc. 1947-1948 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Ensemble Players, Inc. 1938 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Holiday Magazine 1965 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: The Ivy Green, Inc. 1949 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Master Musicians Collective 1992 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: The New Opera Company, Inc. 1942 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: The New School 1963 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: New Stages, Inc. 1947 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: The New York City Theatre Company 1947 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: New York University 1947-1949, 1963 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Spinoza Paeff 1949 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Pegasus Publishing Company 1967, 1970 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Production Management, Inc. 1947 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: The Schola Cantorum 1963 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Jerry Sears 1946 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Michael Spearman 1967-1970 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Stagecraft School of the New Gallery 1938 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Marjory Taylor undated | 1 | |||
Correspondence: University of California, Department of Music 1942 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Western Publishing Company, Inc. 1970 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: The White House 1940, ca. 1990s | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Miscellaneous undated | 1 | |||
Death Mask Portrait undated | 1 | |||
The Diller-Quaille School of Music 1947 | 1 | |||
Essay: "Kaleidoscope and Silly Putty: An Appositive Inquiry" 1968, 1972 | 1 | |||
Essay on Repertory Theatre undated | 1 | |||
| Title | Half-box | |||
Evening Acting Classes 1946 | 3 | |||
| Title | Carton | |||
Indian Hill Music Workshop 1955 | 1 | |||
List of Compositions undated, ca. 1992-2001 | 1 | |||
Manuscript (Unpublished) “Musical Thought and Organization: An Introduction to Musical Analysis” Volume I, copy 1 undated | 1 | |||
Manuscript (Unpublished) “Musical Thought and Organization: An Introduction to Musical Analysis” Volume II , copy 1 undated | 1 | |||
Manuscript (Unpublished) “Musical Thought and Organization: An Introduction to Musical Analysis” Volume III, copy 1 undated | 1 | |||
Manuscript (Unpublished) “Musical Thought and Organization: An Introduction to Musical Analysis” Volume I, copy 2 undated | 1 | |||
Manuscript (Unpublished) “Musical Thought and Organization: An Introduction to Musical Analysis” Volume II , copy 2 undated | 1 | |||
Manuscript (Unpublished) “Musical Thought and Organization: An Introduction to Musical Analysis” Volume III, copy 2 undated | 1 | |||
Membership Cards to Music Associations 1943, 1995-1996 | 1 | |||
| Title | Flat-box | |||
Musical Scores undated | 4 | |||
Musical Scores 1957, 1974 | 4 | |||
| Title | Carton | |||
The New School 1965 | 1 | |||
New York University 1963 | 1 | |||
Notes on Music undated, 1948, 1981 | 1 | |||
| Title | Flat-box | |||
Phonograph: "Romeo and Juliet" op. 26/1 Intermezzo I - privately recorded by Andre Singer. Inscribed to "Hurd Hatfield" February 1946 1946 | 4 | |||
| Title | Carton | |||
Postcard Invitation to "Lumpazi-Vagabundus" 1937 | 1 | |||
| Title | Flat-box | |||
Poster: "Was Ihr Wollt" 1933 | 4 | |||
| Title | Carton | |||
Poster: "Was Ihr Wollt" (original in box 4) 1933 | 1 | |||
Programs undated, 1928-1942 Digital Object Available | 1 | |||
| Title | Half-box | |||
Programs 1946-1959 | 3 | |||
Programs 1960-1996 | 3 | |||
| Title | Carton | |||
Texts for Music: "Alcottiana", by Andre Singer undated | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: "Canticle of Peace", by Andre Singer undated | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: "A City of Churches", by Andre Singer 1972, 1978 | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: "City Life", by Nancy Greenwald 1970 | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: "Conversation with a Decent Man", by Andre Singer 1995 | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: "Dear Lear" undated | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: "Elegy for a Dead Soldier", by Karl Shapiro 1950 | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: "The Faithful", by Jane Cooper undated | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: "Fragment", by Andre Singer 1940-1942 | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: "The Gambler", by Andre Singer 1940-1942 | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: "I am Inside Someone Who Hates Me...", by Yvonne Isaac undated | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: "Kinderlied II", by Harold Peter Gutherz undated | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: "Knots", by R.D. Laing undated | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: Letter to Fulk Nerra, Count of Anjou, by Cassia Berman undated | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: On the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the United Nations, by June Jordan 1970 | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: Supplication in Tempore Belli, by Andre Singer undated | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: Tom and Anna, by Andre Singer undated | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: Ubu, by Andre Singer undated | 1 | |||
Texts for Music: Une Chanson, by Jeanie Ellison undated | 1 | |||
Unidentified Script and Notes, by Andre Singer undated | 1 | |||
Series III. United States Army | ||||
| Title | Half-box | |||
Concerts in Noumea, New Caledonia 1944-1945 | 3 | |||
| Title | Carton | |||
Correspondence: American Red Cross 1944 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Lt. Col. Harrison 1944 | 1 | |||
Honorable Discharge 1945 | 1 | |||
Infantry Training Certificate ca. 1944 | 1 | |||
Military Ribbons ca. 1944-1945 | 1 | |||
Newspaper Clippings undated, 1944 | 1 | |||
Protestant Worship Service 1944 | 1 | |||
Radio Noumea, New Caledonia 1944 | 1 | |||
| Title | Half-box | |||
South Pacific Daily News: "Victory!" 1945 | 3 | |||
Series IV. Sarah Lawrence College | ||||
| Title | Carton | |||
Concert Announcements 1975-1986 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Alumnae/i Association 1994-1995 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Advisory Committee on Appointments 1960-1978 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Harold Aks 1957, 1959, 1976 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Center for Continuing Education 1976 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Dean of the College 1957, 1973 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: President Charles DeCarlo undated, 1969-1978 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Employment Contracts and Salaries 1946-1976 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Phyllis Farley 1977 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Anne Friers 1996 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Allison MacLeod Goekijan 1996 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Ross Graham 1959 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: The Howard Foundation 1955 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: President Alice Ilchman 1987, 1996 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Jacqueline Mattfield 1968-1970 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Mary Milligan 1961 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: 'Outside' Employment 1963-1968 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: The Presser Foundation 1965 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Office of Publications 1949-1973 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: President Esther Raushenbush 1966-1968 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Elfie Raymond 1995-1996 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Doris Riker undated, 1950-1959 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Marc Slonim 1959, 1964 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: President Harold Taylor undated, 1946-1959 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Harrison Tweed 1959 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: President Paul Ward 1962-1964 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Ken Wentworth 1994-1996 | 1 | |||
Correspondence: Miscellaneous undated, 1963, 1968 | 1 | |||
Course Descriptions undated, 1968 | 1 | |||
| Title | Half-box | |||
Essay: 'An Age in Search of Music' 1964 | 2 | |||
Essay: 'Piano Literature' 1962 | 2 | |||
Faculty Emeriti Honoring Ceremony 1994 | 2 | |||
Faculty Identification Card undated | 2 | |||
Faculty Information Sheets undated, 1946-1971 | 2 | |||
Introductory Speech for Edgar Varese 1959 | 2 | |||
Lectures undated, 1958 | 2 | |||
Newspaper Articles undated, 1947-1996 | 2 | |||
News Release 1953-1996 | 2 | |||
'Project for a Senior College' Proposal undated | 2 | |||
Seminars undated, 1977 | 2 | |||
Speeches: Convocation 1957 | 2 | |||
Speeches: Edmund Haines 1974 | 2 | |||
Speeches: Graduation 1976 | 2 | |||
Students: Programs, Reviews undated, 1958, 1975 | 2 | |||
Workshops: Contemporary Culture 1953 | 2 | |||
Workshops: Lyric Theatre 1952 | 2 | |||
Workshops: Music Criticism 1959 | 2 | |||
Series V. Post-Mortem Supplement | ||||
| Title | Half-box | |||
Correspondence Re: Andre Singer: Dorothy DeLay 1996 | 2 | |||
Correspondence Re: Andre Singer: Seymour Lipkin 1996 | 2 | |||
Correspondence Re: Andre Singer: George and Beth Wolf 1996 | 2 | |||