Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1981-2012 (Creation)
Extent
17.25 linear feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The collection consists of budgetary, operational, and departmental documentation of the concerts and interior workings of the Linfield Chamber Orchestra.
System of arrangement
Arranged in 5 series: 1. Operational, 1991-2006. 2. Artists, 1991-2009. 3. Publicity, 1991-2012 4. Concerts, 1990-2009. 5. Mementos, 1999-2006.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Access is by appointment only. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
English
Scripts of the material
Latin
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Deposited in the Linfield College Archives in 2012.
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
No further accruals expected.
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Jereld R. Nicholson Library, Linfield University
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Summary: This collection, a repository for the documents, media and minutia of the Linfield Chamber Orchestra, shows the efforts of the organization to provide a teaching orchestra to the Yamhill County area. The majority of the collection is paper-based, with ephemerae such as posters and news clippings.
General note
Historical Note: Throughout the lifespan of the Linfield Chamber Orchestra (LCO), from its commencement in 1990 to the final concerts in 2012, the Department of Music at Linfield made an effort to collect and maintain examples of programming, music and the interior workings of the orchestra. The LCO historian, Marion van Dyk, who was also the chairman of the board of directors for more than a decade, became part of the project at the initial steering committee meeting in 1990.
Vocal music instruction and choral instruction date back to the inception of Linfield College, but a strong string program was felt to be lacking by the steering committee (including Gwen Leonard, Marion van Dyk, Jill Timmons, and others.) The music faculty felt that one director must be secured to devote themselves to the project. The initial director, Sylvain Frémaux, met with the subcommittee in the spring of 1990 and was selected for the task.
Over the 21-year life of the orchestra, several directors oversaw the artistic direction of the LCO. Sylvain Frémaux, previously assistant conductor to the Strasbourg Symphony Orchestra, relocated to the Portland-Metro area in September 1990 and was the original candidate and director of the orchestra. He was succeeded by Huw Edwards in 2002 and Michael Gesme in 2003.
The orchestra was not only organized in the effort to provide a musical service to the Yamhill County area, but to be a teaching orchestra to the students of Linfield College, with the goal implementing a string music tradition. The aim of one student paired at every stand would not only increase the appeal of the department to students, it would improve the quality of instruction that Linfield could provide. About 30 strong, musicians from McMinnville and the Portland-Metro area played an average of four concerts per year, formally structured as one choral, one chamber, a string program, and one full orchestra program.
Specialized notes
- Citation: Linfield Chamber Orchestra papers. Jereld R. Nicholson Library. Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon.
- Processing information: Input into Access to Memory by Elizabeth Arnold, 2024; further information input by Irene Taylor, 2026.
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Processed by Archives Technician Anna Vanderschaegen, with the assistance of archivist Rachael Cristine Woody.