The Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture was established in 1983 to share information about Africana and African-American culture with both the Duke and Durham communities. The collection contains materials regarding the general origins, development, and oversight of the Mary Lou Williams Center, as well as files related to programming hosted by, or sponsored by the Center. There are also a small number of files, mostly course materials, related to Leon Latimer Dunkley, Jr., who was the director of the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture from 1999-2005.
In 1942, Duke University created the Department of Aesthetics, Art and Music. In 1960, the Department of Music formed as a separate department. Allan H. Bone, Duke professor from 1940 to 1983 and conductor of the Duke Symphony, was instrumental in the formation of the department. British composer Iain Hamilton was a faculty member for seventeen years. The Dept. of Music audiovisual materials collection contains audio and video resources made between 1951 and 1996, primarily on open reel audio and video tape, of the Duke Symphony Orchestra, the Duke Wind Symphony, the Duke Glee Club, the Ciompi Quartet, and the Duke Collegium Musicum, as well as other recordings related to the faculty and students of the Duke University Department of Music. There are also audiocassettes and a few videotapes. Faculty members represented include Jane Hawkins, Penelope Jensen, Randall Love, Robert Parkins, Fred Raimi, Claudia Warburg, Mary Lou Williams, and Ruth Friedburg. Other featured musicians are Milton Babbitt, Barbara Lister-Sink, Claudia Bloom, Boaz Sharon, and Bruce Berg. English.
Nathan Ockman was born on December 29, 1926 in New York City. As a child in the 1930s, he was brought by his parents to an event that featured pioneering choreographers in modern dance, among them Anna Sokolow and Sophie Maslow. Though he received no formal dance training himself, this childhood exposure to modern dance sparked a lifelong passion for dance spectatorship. The collection contains the dance-related memorabilia (circa 1949-2006) saved by Nathan Ockman. Materials include performance programs and newspaper clippings, which are arranged chronologically. Many of the materials are annotated by Mr. Ockman.
Stephanie Reinhart (1944-2002) began working at the American Dance Festival in 1977 as the Director of Planning and Development and became Co-Director with Charles L. Reinhart in 1993. While on the board Stephanie traveled to many countries to view dance and lecture on American modern dance and arts administration, and in 1993 she was awarded a Fulbright research grant to study modern dance in Argentina.
Patricia Edison Powers Jones (1924-2011) was born in Waterbury, CT. Jones attended Bennington College, graduating in 1946 with a BA in Social Science. She moved to Chapel Hill, NC, in 1957. Powers was an avid supporter of American Dance Festival until her death in 2011. Collection includes photographs, programs, clippings, books, and musical and choreographic scores.