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Merrill Bradshaw papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 7486

Scope and Contents

Collection includes (spans the dates 1952-1996) hand-written manuscripts created by Merrill Bradshaw, original scores and parts, published and bound scores such as “Title of Liberty” and “The Restoration”; papers centered around his teaching years such as grade transcripts and class rolls; audio/video recordings that include reel-to-reel tapes, cassette tapes, CDs, video cassettes, and LPs, and correspondence.

Dates

  • approximately 1952-1989

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Merrill Bradshaw papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.

Biographical History

Merrill Bradshaw (1929-2000) was a piano teacher at Brigham Young University.

Born June 18, 1929, Bradshaw grew up playing the piano as a child. He had no teacher but would practice on his own and learned popular classical piano solos. In high school he was the student body president and yearbook editor, played the piano in a dance band, was active in sports, and played the bassoon and trombone in the school band. For a piece he wrote he won a prize in the National Scholastic Composition Contest. He went to Brigham Young University (BYU) and studied music under the direction of Dr. John R. Halliday, who later helped Bradshaw get hired at BYU. He taught at BYU for thirty-seven years teaching piano and composition classes. He composed over two hundred musical works, his most famous being The Restoration. His works range from simple piano pieces and songs to symphonies and concertos and to oratorios and pageants. His works have been performed by many regional, national, and international symphonies and choirs, including the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Ralph Laycock, the orchestra conductor, and Ralph Woodward, the A Cappella Choir conductor, premiered many of Merrill's works. He wrote "Letters to a Young Mormon Composer," which is a series of essays. He was always involved in composition projects, sat on the National Composers Forum board, and was the first head of the Barlow Endowment for Musical Composition. He died July 12, 2000.

Extent

10 carton (10 linear ft.)

18 box (9 linear ft.)

31 oversize box (46 linear ft.)

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in 3 series: Series 1. Merrill Bradshaw manuscripts and published scores; Series 2. Merrill Bradshaw professional papers; Series 3. Merrill Bradshaw audio recordings.

Custodial History

Donated by Merrill Bradshaw in 1989.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated; Merrill Bradshaw; 1989 (A1989-504).

Appraisal

Utah and the American West and LDS cultural, social, and religious history (20th century Western & Mormon Manuscripts collection development policy, 5.VII, 2007).

Processing Information

Processed; Megan Furcini; April 2011

Processed; Brian Fletcher; 2011

Processed; Melissa James; March 2012

Title
Register of Merrill Bradshaw papers
Author
Megan Furcini
Date
2011 April 11
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English in Latin script.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States