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Don L. Earl papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 7836

Scope and Contents

Collection contains professional correspondence for when Don L. Earl was a professor at Brigham Young University, newspaper clippings of operas and other events in which he was involved, class and student files, photographs and slides including those of operas performed at BYU, music scores, production programs, and other materials relating to Earl's time as faculty at BYU and during his musical career, 1952-1978.

Dates

  • 1952-1978

Creator

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 Don L. Earl papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.

Biographical history

Don L. Earl (1917-1997) was a professor of music at Brigham Young University.

Don Lee Earl was born on August 19, 1917, to Ira Joseph and Ada Lovisa Leavitt Earl. He grew up in Las Vegas and served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bern, Switzerland, before being transferred back to the United States with the outbreak of Word War II. During the war he served as a Navy flight instructor and a light bomber pilot. He married Ruth Lillian Moss on October 22, 1944, in Texas.

He graduated from Brigham Young University in music and received his PhD from Indiana University. He taught music and religion at BYU for 35 years. He conducted many choirs, operas, and symphonies, and ran the BYU Opera Workshop. He was the music director for the Utah Valley Opera in the late 1960's. He was a member of and served as president for the Provo branch of the American Federation of Musicians Union for twenty years. He was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in several church positions.

Earl died on September 7, 1997, in Provo, Utah.

Extent

12 cartons (12 linear ft.)

1 box (0.5 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Arranged into four series: I. Don L. Earl professional papers, 1953-1978. II. Don L. Earl class and student files, 1969-1977. III. Don L. Earl photographs and slides, 1952-1976. IV. Don L. Earl scores, undated.

Custodial History

Donated by Don Earl in 1990.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated; Don Earl; 1990.

Appraisal

Noteworthy LDS composer (Section IV. LDS Music Archives Collection Development Policy January 2011).

Processing Information

Processed; Elizabeth West; May 2011.

Title
Register of the Don L. Earl papers
Status
Completed
Author
Elizabeth West
Date
2011 May 17
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