(336) 725-0651
preserving, sharing, and celebrating Moravian musical culture
The Moravian musical heritage forms a vital link in early American music history and influence.
Approximately one-third of the archival holdings is housed at the
Archie K Davis Center, 457 S. Church St., Winston-Salem, NC;
two-thirds of the archival holdings reside in the
Moravian Archives, Northern Province, 41 W. Locust St., Bethlehem, PA.
Historical Timeline of the Moravian Music Foundation
Growing up in the Moravian Church, I learned the value of the church and the importance of its long and remarkable history, both locally, but also internationally. My own family lineage can be traced back to the Bethabara settlement, so there is a strong personal connection that draws me to the work of the Moravian Music Foundation and the preservation of its remarkable archival collection. While an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I had the privilege of interning one summer at the Foundation under Nola Reed Knouse. This opportunity solidified my passion for musicology and is what ultimately inspired my pursuit of a doctorate in that area. In many ways, I owe my career to the Foundation and consider this opportunity to be both a literal and spiritual homecoming.
Looking to the future, I am excited by all the possibilities, including expanding the lecture series, building a more robust online presence, providing live music performances, creating workshops for local students, and working to tell the global story of the Moravian Church more completely and accurately.
My family has deep ties to the area that go back several generations. My wife, Erin, and I are excited to be moving back to Winston-Salem and to raise our daughter, June, in this community that played such a vital role in shaping who I am today. We are looking forward to exploring all the new restaurants, hiking around Pilot Mountain, and enjoying the vibrant cultural community that has grown over the years. After having lived in New York City for the bulk of our adult lives, we are delighted to be back in the land of BBQ, Cheerwine, and the Heels. -Chris Ogburn
What an honor it is for me to join the Moravian Music Foundation. I look forward to working with the board, staff, and community as we plan for the next 66 years. The mission and vision of the Moravian Music Foundation is as important now and for the future as it was at inception 66 years ago. I am grateful to be leading an organization that is respected throughout the globe for its collection and significance, due to Dr. Knouse and the team. As my wife and family transition to the beautiful city of Winston-Salem, we ask for your prayers and look forward to meeting each of you very soon! -Bruce Earnest
Psalm 99:5
The current plan (subject to change and adjustments, of course) is shared here, and will be updated.
The Plan
1. Nola and Gwyn will retire, effective the end of August, 2022.
2. The Board conducted a search and accepted many applications for Executive Director.
3.Finalists have been interviewed, given presentations, and considered by the Board.
4. A new Executive Director will be named in early summer and will be in place by late summer, 2022.
5. An interim Asst. Director will be hired by summer and will overlap with the current Asst. Director in Bethlehem.
This position will be 2-days a week to finish out the 2022 calendar year, while the new Director considers applicants for the Bethlehem position.
6. Watch for further developments.
ArchiveGrid LINK
This is a collection of over 7,000,000 archival descriptions, including documents, personal papers, family histories, and other archival materials held in about 1,500 archival institutions. ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials, but who may not know exactly where to go to find them. MMF’s finding aids can be discovered through ArchiveGrid. For an example, go to https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/help/; type in the search box (upper right) “Bethlehem congregation” and the first thing you will find is MMF’s finding aid for the Bethlehem Congregation Collection, and also related collections and suggested search terms (Lancaster, Dover, Lititz, etc.), linked to those finding aids on the MMF website.
Individual Finding Aids LINK
Guide: Arranged by Collection LINK
The archival holdings of MMF are divided into collections. (some in Bethlehem, some in Winston-Salem)
The finding aid for each collection is a “30,000-foot view” of the collection in its context. Each finding aid contains information about the size of the collection, how it was created, history of the community or key individuals involved in the collection, and a description of the contents.
A guide to the MMF collections is available at MoravianMusic.org:
For the individual finding aids, see https://moravianmusic.org/category/finding-aids/
Then, click on any of the titles and read about that collection. When this work is completed, there will be a finding aid for every collection we hold.
RISM: Répertoire International des Sources Musicales LINK
RISM, or International Inventory of Musical Sources, is an international, non-profit organization that aims to comprehensively document extant musical sources worldwide: manuscripts, printed music editions, writings on music theory, and libretti that are found in libraries, archives, churches, schools, and private collections.
The RISM Catalog of Musical Sources contains over 1.2 million records and can be searched at no cost. Early western music from 1600 through to the early 19th century is included. https://rism.info/de/search.html
RISM was founded in Paris in 1952 and is the largest and only global organization that documents written musical sources. RISM records what exists and where it can be found. RISM is where scholars go when they are looking for music manuscripts or early prints around the world. RISM entries include the musical incipits – the first phrase or so of music – to enable identification of a specific piece of music (which setting of “Sing to the Lord a New Song” is this?).
GemeinKat is the MMF digital catalog on WorldCat.org LINK
“GemeinKat” is the name given to MMF’s project to upload new and enhanced digital records to the OCLC and RISM databases. We have used the name “GemeinKat” as our umbrella term for the entire project, involving Backstage Library Works, OCLC, WorldCat, and RISM and the work of cataloging; also, the creation of the digital records and the creation of finding aids.
GemeinKat is available to the public, on the internet, at moravianmusic.on.worldcat.org and is a WorldCat Discovery catalog, developed by OCLC, a nonprofit organization that provides services to thousands of libraries worldwide. Through WorldCat, users have the potential to access more than 1.8 billion items in libraries around the world.
GemeinKat itself is: the bibliographic records for each manuscript, book, or printed music item found in MMF holdings.
These archival holdings are grouped by collections and physically reside in either the Bethlehem or Winston-Salem archive (sometimes in both).
For a description, see the MMF website: https://moravianmusic.org/gemeinkat-catalog/.
WorldCat.org: to search the catalog, go to https://moravianmusic.on.worldcat.org/discovery. You can search by composer, title, collection, or any number of other keywords; just go try!
OCLC (Online Computer Library Center): the collective of organization(s) that built the online database called WorldCat. It is now owned by Backstage Library Works.
…however, we prefer you make an appointment to visit the WINSTON-SALEM office in-person, and follow the guidelines, below.
We request visitors follow these requirements:
For shopping, when convenient, please order items on the MMF website. We can leave them at the door for pick-up or ship to you.
For anthem and lending library requests, research inquiries, and other inquiries,
you are welcome to send an email to info@moravianmusic.org or sales@moravianmusic.org
or, for research, dave@moravianmusic.org
or directly to any of the staff, using this pattern: [first name]@moravianmusic.org
…however, you must make an appointment to visit the BETHLEHEM office in-person. Masks, distancing, and limits of occupancy are mandated.
For shopping, when convenient, please order items on the MMF website. We can leave them at the door for pick-up or ship to you.
For anthem and lending library requests, research inquiries, and other inquiries,
you are welcome to send an email to info@moravianmusic.org or sales@moravianmusic.org or
directly to any of the staff, using this pattern: [first name]@moravianmusic.org
Dear MMF,
I have a question about copyright and streaming. We have CCLI license and streaming license at my church, but it does not cover many pieces for organ. Would the ASCAP license provide that protection for us to stream and include copyrighted organ music? I’ve read their website, and it seems like it would. https://www.ascap.com/music-users/types/church-or-ministry
Thanks!
____________________________________________________
Dear Worship Leader,
We have been instructing folks to follow CCLI and OneLicense guidelines, which, as you discovered, unfortunately, rarely cover instrumental/keyboard music.
Yes, it appears as though ASCAP offers a “WorshipCast” streaming license, which is set up in much the same manner as CCLI and OneLicense licenses – i.e., the fee structure is based on worship attendance:
https://apps.christiancopyrightsolutions.com/purchase-license.aspx?svc=wc
A quick click brought up this fee structure:
1 – 199 (in attendance): $284.00
200 – 499 (in attendance): $424.00 (obviously it goes up from here)
Some further good news – the WorshipCast license offered above is controlled by Christian Copyright Solutions (a division of CCLI, and it appears as though purchase of this license would allow you to broadcast both ASCAP and BMI titles, opening up even more possibilities.
I don’t think, however, that this license includes SESAC titles; thus, if you wished to perform anything under the SESAC umbrella (Dan Gawthrop, for instance), you would need to approach that entity directly for a license:
Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Blessings to you in your music ministry!
Gwyneth Michel, Assistant Director, Moravian Music Foundation – – (with edits by Erik S.)
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The Moravian Music Foundation welcomes students for internships.
Both college (or higher) and high school levels may be accommodated.
Some projects require no musical experience; others require ability to read music and understand orchestral scores/parts.
Construction began on the building in the fall of 1999, and the facility was completed and occupied in July 2001. In September 2001, the building was dedicated as the Archie K. Davis Center. More about the man, the building, and a quick, visual tour of our beautiful home.
