Dorothy Bales

The Dorothy Bales Papers are organized into ten series:

1. Personal Documents
2. Correspondence
3. Publicity
4. Concert Programs
5. Teaching Materials
6. Publications
7. Organizations
8. Recordings
9. Photographs
10. Miscellaneous

Ms. Bales’ Personal Documents include a passport, vaccination records, an international driving permit and travel permits.

The Correspondence is divided into seven different categories: correspondence from family; correspondence to Robert Freed Bales; correspondence between Dorothy Bales and Robert Freed Bales; correspondence from Dorothy Bales; personal correspondence to Bales A-C, D-L, M-P, R-Z; personal journals; and miscellaneous. There are letters from NEC president Laurence Lesser and Stanley Sadie, who was editor of Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Also included are correspondence from composers Ernst Bacon, Walter Piston, Jennifer Fowler, Lyn Gillick, Ann Silsbee, and also a telegram from Henryk Szeryng, who was one of Dorothy Bales’ teachers.

Publicity includes a collection of short biographies about Dorothy Bales, press releases and newsletters from various organizations and publications, newspaper clippings ranging in date from 1948-1993, as well as some newspaper clippings that are undated. There is also a subfolder of miscellaneous material that includes general advertisements and a concert poster. In the collection of short biographies, there is a copy of Bales’ entry in “Who’s Who in Entertainment” which contains a number of date inaccuracies.

There are a number of Concert Programs from Bales’ many performances which are organized by date. Also included are a small number of concert programs that have no specified year printed on them.

The Teaching Materials contain records from Dorothy Bales’ visiting associate professorship at University of Massachusetts Amherst, which includes memoranda to the music faculty, student evaluations of Bales’ classes, correspondence with the records offices, and grading notes. There is also included a string method book written by William Pordon, a music examination from one of Bales’ classes at Emmanuel College and a listing of Women Composers compiled by Bales.

The Publications series consists of various articles and other texts written by Dorothy Bales. This includes copies, research and draft notes referring to Bales’ violin method book “Tunes on Tape.” Also included are research, drafts and correspondence referring to a biographical sketch on violinist Charles Castleman, as well as drafts for articles and biographical sketches about Joseph Silverstein and Ricardo Odnoposoff. There are photocopies of articles on Henryk Szeryng and the college concert circuit. There are also photocopies of articles and original issues containing articles that Bales published in the Journal of the American String Teacher. Also included are drafts, correspondence and research pertaining to one such article, “String Playing by Way of the Brain: Left, Right and Center”.

Papers referring to Dorothy Bales’ involvement with various Organizations are arranged by the individual organization and then by the document type. The organizations include the American String Teachers Association, the Boston Chamber Players, and the Ernst Bacon Society. The American String Teachers Association sub-series includes an outline from a workshop given by Dorothy Bales, handwritten notes from the 1977 International String Workshop in Lausanne, Switzerland, an itinerary from the 1979 National ASTA Convention, a ballot for officer election and a certificate of membership. The Boston Chamber Players sub-series includes correspondence from schools, a collection of letters from students, general advertisements for the group, sample programs, contracts, performance schedules and a duplicate concert program that is also included in the Concert Program series. The Ernst Bacon Society sub-series includes correspondence from the group, newspaper clippings, and a miscellaneous folder that includes a member list, the Articles of the Organization issued by the Massachusetts government and meeting minutes.

The Recordings series includes LPs and reel-to-reel recordings of Dorothy Bales’ and Allan Sly’s Twentieth Century Folk Songs for Violin as well as correspondence with a representative of Orion Master Recordings, Inc., the company that issued the LP. There are also miscellaneous papers regarding the recording and publishing of Twentieth Century Folk Songs for Violin including sample track listings and drafts for the album cover. Also included in this series are the LPs that correspond to Bales’ violin method workbook, Rounds on Record.

The Photographs series is organized by each photograph’s subject matter. These include candid photographs of Dorothy Bales and Robert Freed Bales, photographed both alone and together, as well as professional headshots and performance photographs of Dorothy Bales and group photos that include either Dorothy Bales or Robert Freed Bales and other people. Also, there are photographs of other musicians, including Audley Green, Rudolf Serkin, and Nathan Milstein. There is also a sub-series of autographed photographs from other musicians that include Nathan Milstein, Roland Nadeau, Ivan Galamian, Henri Temianka, Isaac Stern and Gabriel Bouillon. In addition, there are candid photographs with the subjects identified on the back as well as candid photographs of unidentified people. There are also photographs of miscellaneous landscapes, and building interiors and exteriors, including a photograph of the exterior of Dorothy and Robert Freed Bales’ home in Weston, Massachusetts. There are three additional envelopes of color photographs of a personal nature including family photos, social gatherings, travel photos etc. Unfortunately most of them are unidentified. Lastly, there are also some photograph negatives included.

Included in the Miscellaneous series are handwritten notes, various newspaper clippings and a copy of the 23rd Psalm. There is also a sub-series of music-related miscellaneous material which includes reviews and advertisements for scores, recordings, music schools, performances, workshops, event calendars, newspaper clippings, concert programs, program notes, a short autobiography of Allan Sly, blank postcards from Italy, and a tour schedule for the Temianka Little Orchestra. Also there are two pencil sketches by S. Gilman from 1993.