Glenn Branca collection

The Glenn Branca Collection consists of the professional and personal records of experimental guitarist and composer Glenn Branca (1948-2018). The collection is arranged into 16 series, spanning 85 document boxes,14 oversize boxes, and 1909.49 gigabytes of born digital material, and dates from 1918 to 2018.

Series 1. Correspondence, 1972-2018, includes two sub-series. Sub-Series 1. Professional, 1972-2016, consists of correspondence with colleagues, collaborators, companies and organizations, relating to Branca's work. Some files include related documents along with correspondence, such as notes and agreements; see Series 2. Project and Subject files for files primarily containing business records. Several files pertain to communications with Branca's agent, Maria Rankov. Several files were maintained as grouped by Branca himself (e.g., "Cyber Letters," "New Biz," "Business") rather than separated out. Sub-series also includes two files of fan mail received by Branca. Sub-Series 2. Family and personal, 1973-2018, consists of correspondence with partners Reg Bloor, Barbara Ess, and Meg English, his parents, sister Bonnie, grandmother, and friends. Some family correspondence includes enclosed photos. Sub-series includes 15 floppy disks with digital copies of letters and contact information.

Series 2. Project and Subject Files, 1968-2007, consists of files created by Branca based on particular projects he was involved in, such as commissions for UCLA's Fine Arts Productions, Roc in Lichen, Parson's Dance Company, and the Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation, the Peter Greenaway film "The Belly of an Architect" which Branca scored, and subjects such as cyberpunk novels, Barbara Ess' band, Y Pants, stamps, radio station play, manufacturers, and more. Series 2. Project and Subject Files overlaps slightly with Series 1. Correspondence; files titled by individual or organization that included a small amount of correspondence, but primarily contained other types of records, were filed in this series.

Series 3. Miscellaneous Biographical, 1918-2014, consists of files on personal and family history including 8 files about his father John Branca, multiple "bio" files that in some cases overlap with his press kits (including resumes, lists of works, reviews, etc.), miscellaneous IDs, 2 scrapbooks compiled by his parents on his early theater and musical activities, address books, high school and college yearbooks, and daily ephemera such as warranties for his appliances, New York voting instructions, a petition against George W. Bush's inauguration, health insurance pamphlets, and ads for equipment of interest. Series also includes an envelope Branca kept with a few of his hairs.

Series 4. Date Books, 1982-2012, consists of date books kept by Branca with daily appointments and notes. Some are professionally bound, and others are pages stapled together by Branca. Series includes one file of loose materials dating circa 1992-1993 that were enclosed within one of the date books.

Series 5. Photographs, 1921-2016, includes two sub-series. Sub-Series 1. Career and Professional, 1970-2004, consists of contact sheets, prints, negatives, Xerox copies, digital copies on CD, transparencies, and slides, of portrait and candid photographs showing Branca in a professional context (including of performances of his music). Sub-Series 2. Family and Personal, 1921-2016, consists of photo prints of street photography, partner Reg Bloor performing, his family members (some annotated by his mother), Branca as a child, school portraits, junior high theater performance.

Series 6. Event materials, 1976-2016, includes three sub-series. Sub-Series 1. Posters and fliers, 1976-2016, consists of Xerox copies and rolled and flat originals of posters and fliers promoting events Branca was involved in, including performances of his symphonies, Bastard Theatre plays, collaborations with Reg Bloor, Theoretical Girls and The Static shows, and more. Two are signed by Branca. Most posters are oversized. Sub-Series 2. Tours, festivals, travel and performance planning, 1977-2012, consists of records from Branca's tours of the United States and of Europe (including as part of The Static's tour of Europe), planning documents for performances, travel records, location scouting, press, related correspondence, planning notebooks, contracts (including for a performance in Japan), contact information and business cards, maps, and technical specifications for venues. Sub-Series 3. Personnel, promotion, and ephemera, 1979-2015, consists of event programs, press coverage of events, promotional graphics and type, contact and biographical information and surveys for musicians who performed at events (or were considered), requirements of musicians, records of musicians' pay and related correspondence, program guides for venues and festivals, mailing cards, backstage passes from shows, and a Ticket to the Arts membership card.

Series 7. Legal and Financial Records, 1982-2009, consists of property leases, funding records (including grant information and applications), copyright and licensing records, contracts and agreements (including some related correspondence), and royalties earned.

Series 8. Scores, parts, charts, performance and composition notes, 1981-2016, is the largest series, including twenty-nine sub-series, grouped by work: 1. The Ascension album, circa 1981, 2005, 2. Symphony No. 1 (Tonal Plexus), circa 1981, 3. Symphony No. 2 (The Peak Of The Sacred), circa 1982, 4. Symphony No. 3 (Gloria), 1982 and undated, 5. Symphony No. 4 (Physics), circa 1983, 6. Symphony No. 5 (Describing Planes Of An Expanding Hypersphere), 1984-1985, 7. The Belly of an Architect Film score for string orchestra, circa 1986-1987, 8. Symphony No. 6 (Angel Choirs At The Gates Of Hell, in 4 movements, revised as Devil Choirs At The Gates Of Heaven, in 5 movements), circa 1987-1988, 9. Symphony No. 7 (Live in Graz) commissioned for the Steirischer Herbst Festival, circa 1989, 2010, 10. The World Upside Down ballet score commissioned by the Elisa Monte Company, circa 1990, 11. ln Passions Tongue opera score commissioned by The Opera Tomorrow Festival, circa 1986, 12. Les Honneurs Du Pied dance score in two movements for orchestra commissioned by Roc in Lichen, Paris, circa 1991, 13. String Quartet No. 1 commissioned by Bang on a Can, circa 1991, 14. The Tower Opera score for orchestra and chorus (with libretto by Matthew Maguire, unproduced), circa 1992, 2011 June, 15. Symphony No. 8 (The Mystery), 1991-1992, 2003, 16. Symphony No. 9 (L'Eve Future), circa 1993, 17. Symphony No. 10 (The Mystery Pt. 2), circa 1994, 1996, 2003, 18. "Glenn Branca and The New York Chamber Sinfonia Conducted by Glen Cortese" performance (The World Financial Center), circa 1994, 19. Symphony No. 11 (The Nether Lands), 1996, 2005, 2016 and undated, 20. Symphony No. 12 (Tonal Sexus), circa 1998, 21. Symphony No. 13 (Hallucination City), 1999-2007 and undated, 22. Symphony No. 14 (The Harmonic Series), 2003-2008 and undated, 23. Compositional Recreations for electro-acoustic chamber ensemble, circa 2005, 24. The Ascension: The Sequel album, circa 2010-2013, 25. Symphony No. 15 (Music for Strange Orchestra), circa 2010, 26. Symphony No. 16 (Orgasm), 2015 and undated, 27. The Third Ascension album, 2013-2016 and undated, 28. Harmonic Series, 1985, 1997 and undated, and 29. Untitled and miscellaneous, 1986-2014 and undated.

Series 9. Just Another Asshole Mixed Media Publication, 1979-2000, consists of materials relating to the “no wave” publication (in existence from 1978-1987) arranged by Barbara Ess (and co-edited by Branca for issues 5-7). Series includes copies of the publication itself, ordering records, correspondence regarding a catalog of cyberpunk fiction maintained by Branca, and writing draft titled "Asshole Piece."

Series 10. Writing, 1971-2010, includes three sub-series. Sub-Series 1. Creative, 1990-2010, consists of drafts from Branca's unpublished novel Jesus Christmas, miscellaneous writing drafts (including a "Spin D and You-Effect" notebook, and piece titled "Whatever" or "WTF"), as well as records of colleagues' creative writing. Sub-Series 2. Nonfiction and Autobiographical, circa 1987 and undated, consists of includes pieces "This is what I thought that they thought of me," "Questions on Reality," "Theatre (A Short and Undefined Definition," partial autobiographical manuscript "Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself," draft materials for a book on the harmonic series, and other drafts and notes. Sub-Series 3. Notes and Miscellaneous, 1971-1999, includes 8 files of index cards with notes, notebooks kept by Branca on a range of topics (including titled "Institute for Harmonic Research," "General 1999 Fall," "NYC Shows," "Music - Ideas," "New Music Times Blog," and "Recording"), and 44 miniature "pocket notebooks."

Series 11. Press, 1979-2011, includes three sub-series. Sub-Series 1. Interviews, 1979-2003, consists of copies of published and unpublished interview materials, including with interviewers Bill Duckworth, John Schaefer, Cole Gagne, Johnathan Dixon, Rick Little, and Lee Windy. Materials include transcripts, biographies, related correspondence, articles, timelines, and 23 audio cassettes. Sub-Series 2. Clippings, 1971-2005, consists of press clippings (originals and Xerox copies) and press releases regarding Branca's career. Many files come from binders labeled "INK" which Branca had arranged by year. Sub-Series 3. Publications, 1981-2011, consists of consists of music and arts publications related to Branca's work (some only tangentially), and publications put out in conjunction with events Branca participated in (such as ArsElectronica and Expo2000). A smaller number of non-music specific publications are included (including editions of Vanity Fair and New York magazine).

Series 12. Theater, 1970-1989, primarily consists of materials related to his work as a founder of the experimental theater group Bastard Theatre in Boston, which primarily took place in the mid-1970s. Branca composed, scripted, and performed. References to “Kitzler” relate to the artist pseudonym Branca used, “Ernest Kitzler,” when he lived in California. Series includes some theater works by other creators in which Branca was involved, such as the play "Edmond" by David Mamet.

Series 13. Artwork and objects, 1982-2017, consists of sketches, drawings (some related to the harmonic series), exhibition materials (from "Classical Space" and "On the Wall/On the Air" in the mid-1980s), graphics used for promotion, designs for album/CD cover art. Also includes a drawing by former partner and artist Barbara Ess, and a stained-glass piece likely created by his mother Dolores Branca. Objects include a computer mouse, small, wired speakers, a set of keys, a case with 10 sharp objects (use unknown), a Swatch box (empty), and more.

Series 14. Instruments, 1982-1984 and undated, consists of two of Branca's custom guitars, one fretless with tone positions marked on the neck, and one re-fretted in harmonic series tuning. Series also includes two files with documentation about Branca’s harmonic series guitar.

Series 15. Recordings and media, 1977-2011, includes two sub-series. Sub-Series 1. Audiovisual media, 1977-2001, consists of 45 vinyl records, audio cassettes, open-reel audiotapes, Super 8 mm film, U-Matic, VHS, Hi8 and Betamax videocassettes. Audio and video recordings include performances by Branca, the Theoretical Girls, and The Static, and performances of Branca's compositions by symphony orchestras. This series includes commercial and non-commercial recordings. Also included is a VHS of the 1987 film "The Belly of an Architect" which featured Branca's music in the soundtrack. Sub-Series 2. Born-Digital media, 1977-2011, consists of approximately 1,909.49 gigabytes of data, on optical discs (CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray), DATs (Digital Audio Tapes), and floppy disks. Media includes live concert recordings, commercial CDs, masters, remasters, and mixes of Branca's compositions, the Branca Ensemble, and Theoretical Girls performances. Also includes DVD and Blu-ray copies of the film "The Belly of an Architect," and a recorded interview.

Series 16. Software, circa 1992-2000 and undated, consists of floppy disks and CDs of computer software, including games, music, and multimedia software.