Kingstowne Music Club

University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2009

Collection Overview

Title:	Kingstowne Music Club
Date range:	1939-1966
Creator:	Kingstowne Music Club (Kingston, R.I.)
Extent:	1 linear foot, 2 box(es)
Abstract:	The Kingstowne Music Club was a civic organization dedicated to fostering the appreciation and enjoyment of music, founded in 1939 in Kingston, Rhode Island. This collection consists mainly of the group's performance programs and meeting notes.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Mss. Gr. 140

Scope & content

The records of the Kingstowne Music Club consist largely of performance programs, minutes, and reports of the organization's activities from 1939 to 1966. Some of this material is missing for a few years in the 1940s. Reports from the organizational meetings at which the Club was founded are present, as are the original Constitution, drafted in 1939, and the revised Constitution, dated 1952. The Club kept thorough membership lists, updated yearly, with names, addresses, and telephone numbers. From the programs, it is possible to see exactly what music was performed, by whom, and where. Clippings from the local newspaper show reporting of the events. Material from the National Federation of Music Clubs and the Rhode Island State Federation of Music Clubs documents the Club's affiliation with those organizations. There are thank-you letters from high school students to whom the Club awarded scholarships to the University of Rhode Island Summer Music Camp in 1959. The records also contain six half-tone negatives of publicity photographs of guest musicians.

There is no indication here that the organization disbanded after 1966, but the records simply stop at that year.

Arrangement

The collection is organized in two series:

• 1. Subject Files
• 2. Half-tone negatives

Historical note

The Kingstowne Music Club, a civic organization dedicated to fostering the appreciation and enjoyment of music, was founded in 1939 in Kingston, Rhode Island. These records show its activities through 1966. The Club had no official relationship with the University of Rhode Island, although many of its members did. Almost from its inception, the Kingstowne Music Club belonged to the National Federation of Music Clubs and the Rhode Island State Federation of Music Clubs. Activities of the Club consisted of a yearly series of musical events, at which members and guests would perform. These were often held in members' homes and documented in the local newspaper, but sometimes took place in larger public halls in the area. The repertoire was most often classical but included other genres such as traditional folk songs. The Club also sponsored scholarships to the University of Rhode Island Summer Music Camp for high school students.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Open for research.
Use of the materials:	Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	Kingstowne Music Club Records, 1939-1966, Mss. Gr. 140, University of Rhode Island Library, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	These records were donated to Special Collections at an undetermined date, as part of the papers of Arnold Clair (MSG #135), who was an active member of the Kingstowne Music Club (along with his wife, Jane Clair) beginning in the late 1940s.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Jessica B. Wilson.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Hailie D. Posey 2009 June 23, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 April 10
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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Inventory