Materials are open to research without restriction except for portions designated as restricted, confidential, or sealed. For the latter material, prior permission in writing from the President of the Minnesota Orchestral Association is required.
Permission to examine this collection will be granted to any qualified researcher upon completion of an application form. The original documents do not circulate and may only be used in the Reading Room of the Manuscripts Division.
Photoreproduction and audio reproduction of any materials in which the Minnesota Orchestral Association holds copyright, shall be performed only with the written permission of the MOA except for photoreproduction of any published materials of the Association in the public domain.
Minnesota Orchestra Film and Video Recordings (PA 12, Series 12.4), Minnesota Orchestra Archives, Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.
Transferred from the Orchestra during the 1990s and early 2000.
The collection was processed and the finding aid written by Leslie Czechowski, May 2004.
The collection is arranged in eight series:
The films and videos in this collections are various formats; the videos are U-Matic, production Beta, consumer Beta, and VHS. The collection includes film footage from Orchestra broadcasts, tapes produced by the Orchestra along with the raw footage, extensive coverage of tours in the late 20th century, and examples of promotional materials and news coverage of Orchestra activities.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
A list of films and videos in this collection is not available online at this time. A detailed inventory of recordings is available in the Archives.
Films are in a variety of formats, although most are 16- and 35-mm. Many of the films have not been appraised and may be duplicates. They include "Celebration", a film about the construction of Orchestra Hall, and some of the Orchestra's broadcasts in the 1950s.
These videos include taped speeches by music directors that were played at annual meetings of the Orchestral Association and informational videos produced for annual meetings.
Interviews are of music directors (de Waart, Marriner, Oue), musicians, and noted members of the Board of Directors.
There are few videos of tours before the 1990s. European and Japan tours in the 1990s and 2000 are extensively documented in this series.
There are few complete works performed by the Orchestra in this group of videos. Exceptions are "Tonight Scandinavia" and "Thank-you Maestro" (concert on the retirement of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski). Most of the videos contain small portions of concerts, occasionally the full movement from one symphony.
The bulk of the videos in this series are footage used for the creation of the 1992 development campaign video "Campaign for the Minnesota Orchestra: Enriching Lives With Great Music." Included is concert footage and extensive interviews with people who had a long association with the Orchestra.
Many of these videos exemplify promotional activities of the Orchestra. Included are such videos as "At Home With the Minnesota Orchestra," "Magical Music: A Tour to Orchestra Hall," "Meet Eiji Oue," and "The Story of the Minnesota Orchestra."
Included are examples of news coverage of Orchestra activities, ranging from a few seconds to hour-long programs. Well documented is Sommerfest from the 1980s when programs were broadcast on opening night of Sommerfest, often from Peavey Plaza.