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Merrill Bradshaw professional papers, 1972-1985

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 7486 Series 2

Scope and Contents

Includes grade transcripts, class rolls, sheets of music and correspondence. The collection spans the dates 1952 to 1996, and also includes scholarship application forms and various records from Bradshaw's teaching years and tenure at Brigham Young University as well as articles he as written such as "Letters to a Young Mormon Composer."

Dates

  • 1972-1985

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

From the Collection:

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

5 cartons