Alison Holder
Papers, c1960-1990

MSS 0062

Contents listing

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These papers relate principally to the career of Miss Alison Holder as pianist and accompanist and as teacher of pianoforte and of aural culture and musical appreciation at the Elder Conservatorium from 1945-1973 and subsequently senior tutor until her retirement in December 1982.   There is material relating to a number of her students, notably Geraldine Hackett-Jones, and to the Opera Class and Pro-Opera Consort performances directed by Arnold Matters, teacher of singing at the Conservatorium from 1959-1966, which Miss Holder accompanied.  Included in the collection are also some earlier papers of other Elder Conservatorium staff, among these articles on Aboriginal music by Professor E. Harold Davies and lectures and newspaper cuttings of Maude Puddy, who preceded her as a teacher of pianoforte (1919-1959).

Contents Listing

1. [Performance] Engagements 1961-1983. 1v.

2. Album of Newspaper cuttings and concert programmes re Elder Conservatorium staff and students c1937-1983. 1v

3. Recordings of concerts and occasions.  1978-1983 and undated. 9 cassette tapes.

• Maude Puddy's 90th birthday speech [followed by Howard Parsons, cello and Alison Holder, piano Ach Varmeland du Skomma and a talk with Arnold Matters. undated
• Die schone mullerin (Gregory Massinghan, tenor) 19 April 1979
• Festival concerts 1978 (Jenny Russel and David Galliver)
• Schumann's Dichterliebe (David Galliver, tenor and Alison Holder, piano) undated (2 tapes)
• Penelope Dawe, end of year practical examination, B.Mus (Performance), 11 November 1983
• Children's songs - Geraldine Hackett-Jones, soprano, Dean Patterson and Martin Wesley-Smith, guitar, Alison Holder accompanist. undated
• University of Adelaide cello Ensemble,leader Kurt Hess.  undated
• Pro-Op [performance] of Fidelio [and] Pilgrim. undated

All except the latter are private recordings and the quality is often indifferent.  Most are undated.

4. Colour slides of Elder Conservatorium Opera Class performances, 1960-1974.

• 330 slides, together with a list of the operas represented, with dates.

5. Reminiscences of Harold Parsons. Undated

• 24 p. ms. with inserted programme of Farewell concert 7 March 1905 and list of Conservatorium staff 1902.

6. Newspaper articles re Arnold Matters, undated [1969] and 1984; and obituaries, September 1990.

7. Eulogy to Arnold Matters, August 1990. Typescript

Papers of E. Harold Davies on Aboriginal Music

8. Articles/talks by Davies

• 'Aboriginal songs of central and Southern Australia' Oceania  June 1932
• Palaeolithic Music, undated [printed in Musical Times  1 August 1927]
• Music in Primitive Society [Anthropological Society of South Australia, Campbell address, 1940]
• Australian Aboriginal songs, undated
• Aboriginal songs, undated
• Aboriginal song [for Royal Society 10 July 1941]
• Aboriginal songs [Leeds 24 January]
• With the Aboriginals in Central Australia, undated

9. Letter to Professor Davies from Professor Dr. E.M. v. Hornbostel, 10 January 1928 re his paper on [and field recordings of] Arunta songs.

10. Newspaper cutting from The West Australian 22 October 1929 re Davies' researches in Aboriginal music.

11. Baton used by Professor Davies. 1 item

See also the papers of E. Harold Davies, Manuscript collections MSS 0059, series 4

Papers of Maude Mary Puddy

12. Articles/talks by Maude Puddy. 1953-1954 and undated. 5 items.

• The Story of a Trill, February 1953
• The Value of Persistence {relates to Theodor Leschetizky}, July 1954
• Two articles on Theodor Leschetizky, undated
• Music and the Community, undated
• Vienna - its Ringstrasse and its Music, undated

13. Newspaper cuttings re Maude Puddy and collected by her re the Elder Conservatorium, other musicians and music generally, 1907-1973. 1 cm

14. Concert programmes 1911-29. 5 items.

• Concert by tenor B.M. Leser-Lasario [with Maude Puddy on piano], Bad Ischl 7 August 1911
• Clive Carey song recital 14 October 1929 [Maude Puddy at the piano]
• Public Schools' Decoration Society Official Program for Concerts, 1918
• Souvenir programme Beethoven Festival 1920
• New South Wales State Orchestra tour of Victoria and South Australia 1921
• Felix Salmond [cellist] at Steinway Salon, 13 November 1926

These papers were deposited by Miss Holder in December 1998, with the exception of the slides of the Opera Class performances, which were deposited by Miss Holder and Arnold Matters in October 1986 [formerly University Archives Donation 56].

Additional collections relating to the Elder Conservatorium and to music performance and composition  in Adelaide generally may be found in the papers of Professor John Bishop, Professor E. Harold Davies, Dr Ruby Davy, Dr. Malcolm Fox, Professor A.D. McCredie, Miriam Hyde and Horace Perkins.  There are also extensive collections of music performance programmes in the Theatre collection.

The official records of the Elder Conservatorium are held by the The University of Adelaide Archives.

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