Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Robinson, Gertrude Rivers
- Abstract:
- The papers of Gertrude Rivers Robinson contain music manuscripts and sketches, correspondence, press clippings, class notes and coursework, lecture materials, audio recordings, photographs, slides, films and videos documenting her life and career as a composer, ethnomusicologist and pedagogue, including her research on the Balinese gamelan tradition.
- Extent:
- 17 document case(s)
- Language:
- Materials are in English and Indonesian.
- Preferred citation:
Gertrude Rivers Robinson Collection, SC 20, Archives of African American Music and Culture, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
Gertrude Eloise Rivers Robinson was an African American ethnomusicologist, composer, and gamelan performer. Born in 1927 in Camden, South Carolina, Gertrude was the daughter of distinguished academics. Her father, Dr. W. Napoleon Rivers Jr., was a professor of Romance languages at D.C. Teachers College, while her mother, Dr. Gertrude Burroughs Rivers, was an English professor at Howard University. Gertrude Rivers Robinson studied piano from an early age and pursued music while attending the Northfield School for Girls in Massachusetts. She earned her bachelor's of arts degree from Cornell University in 1947, where she also participated in the Cornell Dance Club, first as a performer and later as a composer and accompanist. From 1947-1950 she was an instructor and composer-accompanist in modern dance at Cornell University, while also pursuing graduate work at Connecticutt State College for Women and the Eastman School of Music. In 1950 she married Spencer Monroe Robinson, son of Dr. and Mrs. Aubrey E. Robinson of Madison, NJ, who received a degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and a master's degree in aeronautical engineering. The Robinsons relocated to Los Angeles, California in 1951 when Spencer was offered a job in the aerospace industry.
In Los Angeles, Robinson began collaborating with choreographers Lester Horton (on works including "Yerma" and "Dedications in Our Time") and Gloria Newman ("The Unfound Door" and "Footfall in the Memory"). She completed her Master of Arts in Composition at UCLA, where she studied Indonesian and gamelan music with Mantle Hood and performed with the UCLA Gamelan Ensemble. She undertook her first research trip to Bali and Java in 1970, collecting recordings that would later be released on the album Bali South, published by the UCLA Institute of Ethnomusicology. In 1970, she also began teaching at Loyola Marymount University, where she purchased a gamelan angklung to continue teaching Balinese music. Her M.A. thesis composition, Bayangan: Piece for Western septet and Balinese octet (1972), featured an ensemble of gamelan instruments played in the gong kebyar style as well as dancers, and was performed on several occasions at UCLC and LMU in the 1980s. One of her most popular pieces, Moods for Flute and Piano (1989), was dedicated to Kwabena Nketia. Robinson was active in the Society for Ethnomusicology, serving as the president of the Southern California Chapter. Robinson continued teaching at LMU until her death in 1995.
- Scope and Content:
This collection documents the life and career of performer, composer, and ethnomusicologist Gertrude Rivers Robinson. Materials date from Gertrude's childhood through her passing, as well as some documentation of her extended family after her death.
Subseries 1.1 (Personal papers and correspondence) includes personal papers and clippings that relate to Gertrude and her immediate family, mostly dated before she entered college. Some items, such as biographies, curriculum vitae, and correspondence record her activities throughout her life.
The Education subseries (1.2) contains materials from Gertrude's primary education through college, as well as a little documentation of continuing education during her professional career. Textbooks, clippings, assignments, course notes, event programs, and event flyers document her educational activities. The bulk of the materials are from her higher education years at Cornell and UCLA.
Subseries 1.3 (Writings) includes textual works by Gertrude, some of which are meant to accompany her music compositions. Also included is a list of her music compositions.
The Teaching and Professional Activities subseries (1.4) ranges from her time instructing the Cornell Dance Club through her position on the faculty of Loyola Marymount University. Some items related to Gertrude's professional work in the Society for Ethnomusicology and published recordings are also included.
Notes and research specifically related to gamelan music comprise subseries 1.5.
Subseries 1.6 contains a small number of music reference and instruction textbooks and journals owned by Gertrude and subseries 1.7 consists of a few objects such as pins, nametags, ribbons, and tassels.
Series 2 (Photographic prints and slides) is separated into two subseries, grouping still images based on format. The bulk of the images were taken by or of Gertrude. These images show her professional activities, including international travels for research, as well as some of her family life. The slides also include groupings of images created by other ethnomusicologists, in which documentation of dances and musical instruments from around the world can be found.
Series 3 collects the notated music in the collection. The first two subseries bring together works composed or arranged by Gertrude. Some compositional exercises follow in subseries 3.3. Sheet music and songbooks by other composers are in the final part of the series. A broad collection of musical genres and styles can be found in this series, from gamelan music to western classical to popular songs of the early to mid 20th century.
Series 4 brings together the audio recordings in the collection. The first subseries focuses on performances of Gertrude's compositions (both by Gertrude and other performers). The rest of the series collects field recordings by Gertrude, documentation of her other professional work, commercial records in her collection, and lastly recordings of her extended family made posthumously by her son.
Series 5 includes over 75 films showing Gertrude's professional, educational, travel, and family life. Also included in the series is a DVD copy of the film Lord Jim, owned by Gertrude, which features gamelan music.
- Acquisition information:
- Donated by Spencer M. Robinson, Jr. in installments from 2017-2023.
- Processing information:
Processed by AAAMC staff and completed in 2023.
- Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series:
- Series 1: Papers
- Series 2: Still images
- Series 3: Notated music
- Series 4: Audio recordings
- Series 5: Moving images
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
Use of time-based media materials (audio and video) may require production of listening or viewing copies.
Access to streaming audio, moving image, and full resolution digital image materials may currently be restricted to researchers who can authenticate with an IU account or who are physically present on campus. Remote streaming to individual researchers may be allowed with the completion of applicable forms.
For further information about access to online audiovisual materials, contact AAAMC staff at aaamc@indiana.edu.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, including but not limited to the Indiana Public Records Act (5-14-3-2 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which Indiana University assumes no responsibility.
Copyright is retained by the creators/authors of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. All requests for copying and publishing materials must be submitted in writing to the Archives of African American Music and Culture, and may require the written permission of the creator(s)/author(s) or donor(s).
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
Gertrude Rivers Robinson Collection, SC 20, Archives of African American Music and Culture, Indiana University, Bloomington.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
Smith Research Center, Rooms 180-1812805 East 10th StreetBloomington, Indiana 47408-2601, United States
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
812-855-8547aaamc@iu.edu