Dayton Bach Society records
Scope and Contents
These records document the operations and performances of the Dayton Bach Society and its activity in the performing arts community of Dayton, Ohio in the late 20th century. The materials include meeting minutes, correspondence, financial and grant records, programs, news clippings, posters, and audio and video recordings, among others. The materials span the life of the Dayton Bach Society, 1974-2002.
Dates
- Creation: 1974-2002
Creator
- Dayton Bach Society (Organization)
Access to Materials
The materials in this collection are open and accessible to the public for use in the University Archives and Special Collections reading room.
Copyright Notice
The materials in this collection may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). The materials are available for personal, educational, and scholarly use. It is the responsibility of the researcher to locate and obtain permission from the copyright owner or his or her heirs for any other use, such as reproduction and publication.
History of the Dayton Bach Society
The Dayton Bach Society was a choral group founded in 1974 by Dr. Richard P. Benedum, then chair of the Music Department at the University of Dayton. The Society was named for the 18th century German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. The chorus performed all of Bach's major oratorios and passions, in addition to a large number of his cantatas. More broadly, the chorus performed choral music from the medieval period to the present day.
The Dayton Bach Society performed five concerts each season, primarily at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kettering, Ohio, which has a magnificent pipe organ and a large chancel area to accommodate the chorus. Many of the Society's singers were professional musicians.
At the time of its establishment in 1974, the Dayton Bach Society was the only semi-professional choral group in the Dayton area. The Society disbanded in 2002 following the retirement of the music director, Dr. Richard Benedum.
Dr. Benedum has conducted the major oratorios and cantatas of Bach, as well as other major works from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. He is also an accomplished organ recitalist and church musician. He studied with John Hamilton at the University of Oregon, where he received his D.M.A. in organ performance. He also studied organ and conducting with Helmuth Rilling of Stuttgart, Germany, and musicology with Christoph Wolff of Harvard University. His research interests include compositional process in Bach's works, the meaning and pattern of articulation marks in Bach's autograph manuscripts, and the operas and early biographical studies of Mozart. Dr. Benedum is the alumni chair in the humanities and professor of music at the University of Dayton. He was chair of the Department of Music from 1980-1988 and again from 1996-2001.
Extent
36 Linear Feet (59 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection contains administrative, publicity, and performance materials of the Dayton Bach Society, a highly regarded semi-professional chorus in Dayton, Ohio, founded by UD music professor Dr. Richard P. Benedum in 1974. The Dayton Bach Society dissolved in 2002.
Arrangement
The Dayton Bach Society records are divided into seven series.
Missing Title
- Series 1: Administrative records
- Series 2: Financial records
- Series 3: Grants
- Series 4: Events and publicity
- Series 5: Correspondence
- Series 6: Audiovisual and electronic materials
- Series 7: Photographic and oversize materials
Acquisition Information
The Dayton Bach Society records were donated by the founder, Dr. Richard P. Benedum. The first materials were received on 28 October 1991 and more followed in 1992. Additional materials were later donated by Barbara Lupp of the Dayton Bach Society in 2001 and 2002 and by Dr. Benedum in 2005.
Processing Information
The processing of the materials in the original donation was completed on 17 August 1995. Additions to the collection were processed by Rachel DeHart in August 2008 and August 2010.
Subject
- Dayton Bach Society (Organization)
- Benedum, Richard (Person)
- Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750 (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Dayton Bach Society records, 1974-2002
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- 1995
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the University Libraries Repository
300 College Park Dr.
Dayton Ohio 45469-1360