Barbara Tagg Collection on the Syracuse Children's Chorus
An inventory of her collection at the Syracuse University Archives
Historical Note
The Syracuse Children’s Chorus was founded in 1981 by Barbara Tagg, who served as director until 2010. Tagg founded the chorus out of a desire to provide children an opportunity to challenge themselves musically, hone their skills and sing with other children looking for a meaningful choral experience. The Syracuse Children's Chorus was one of the first of its kind in the United States and at the forefront of the American children's choir movement. The chorus started out with 53 choristers, ages 8 to 17, in its first year and eventually grew to include close to 200 choristers divided into several smaller choirs. In addition to several self-produced concerts per season, the chorus has performed with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and traveled as far as Wales and China to perform. Throughout its life span the Syracuse Children's Chorus has commissioned and premiered music from composers around the globe.
Scope and Content Note
The Barbara Tagg Collection on the Syracuse Children's Chorus spans from 1981 to 2018 and documents the history of the organization. The collection is divided into three series:
The Associated materials series encompasses various items related to the Syracuse Children's Chorus, including a book written by Tagg about running a children's chorus, her doctoral dissertation and recordings of the chorus.
The Handbooks series consists of a handbook for each choral season from 1981 to 2010 and includes handbooks for specific tours from 1998 to 2006.
The Scrapbooks series is the most extensive, spans from 1981 to 2010 and documents the various performances and tours of the chorus throughout Tagg's time as director through newspaper clippings, concert programs, travel brochures and photographs. Tagg had originally collected these materials in a series of binders, which were disassembled for preservation reasons.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.
Access to media requires advance notice to produce a use copy.
Use Restrictions
Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
Related Material
The University Archives holds clipping files on Barbara Tagg and the Syracuse Children's Choir.
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Barbara Tagg Collection on the Syracuse Children's Chorus,
University Archives, Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Barbara Tagg donated her collection in multiple parts to the University Archives in 2018.
Processing Information
Materials were rehoused in folders and boxes and scrapbooks were disassembled with the original organization preserved.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: Nicole Morello
Date: 2018
Revision history: 2020 - 0.25 linear foot added (MAM)
Inventory
| Handbooks | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | General 1981-1991 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | General 1994-2010 (4 folders) | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Tour handbooks 1998-2006 (2 folders) | ||||||||||