"Mark McDunn Brass Ensemble Series"
Scope and Contents
The materials in this collection span from 1916, with photographs of Falcone's arrival to the United States from his native Italy, until 1985, with news clippings and an itinerary outlining the upcoming tour of the Falcone Alumni Band.
The most comprehensive range of materials in this collection are contained in Falcone's personal collection of scrapbooks. In particular, the early volumes provide much information on Falcone during his early years, including concert programs from his first recital as a student of Music in Ann Arbor, and a wide scope of news clipping charting Falcone's early career as Director the Military Band at Michigan State College (now Michigan State University). Later scrapbooks, especially those of the 1950s, provide wide coverage of the 1954 and 1956 Rose Bowl games from the perspective of the Marching Band. Also contained in the scrapbooks are materials related to Falcone's numerous affiliations outside of MSU as guest conductor, adjudicator and soloist.
Myron Welch's 1973 dissertation, The Life and Work of Leonard Falcone with Emphasis on his Years as Director of Bands at Michigan State University, provides an extremely thorough overview of Leonard Falcone's career, including information on his career as a musician before immigrating to the United States, and extensive discussion of Falcone's professional activities.
The majority of the correspondence in the collection covers the years in which Falcone was specifically honored: his 25th Anniversary in 1953; his retirement in 1967; and the granting of an honorary degree in 1978. The letters also cover events such as the Rose Bowl Tournaments and Dr. Goldman's visit in 1955. The series of concert programs, including those contained in the scrapbook collection, provides an overview of the Concert Band's progression from its first concert in 1930 until Falcone's retirement in 1967. Also included are numerous programs, particularly from the post-retirement years, for concerts and contests outside of MSU which Falcone was involved with in various capacities. Materials related to Falcone's involvement in the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and the Falcone Alumni Band are limited, as are documents pertaining to Falcone's professional involvement with the American Band Masters Association, the College Band Directors National Association and the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association.
A large part of the collection is made up of sheet music collected by Falcone during his career. This collection includes manuscripts and publications of music arranged by Leonard and Nicholas Falcone, full scores for pieces performed by MSU bands for over 40 years and texts on method used by Falcone as teaching aids.
The electronic resources include digital photographs of plaques honoring Leonard and Betty Beryl Falcone.
Dates
- Creation: 1916 - 2014
Creator
- From the Record Group: Falcone, Leonard (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Extent
From the Series: 10.7 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
From the Record Group: English
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives and Historical Collections Repository
Conrad Hall
943 Conrad Road, Room 101
East Lansing MI 48824 US
517-355-2330
archives@msu.edu