The Library of Congress exhibition “ASCAP: One Hundred Years and Beyond” will travel to Los Angeles, opening at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in the Library of Congress Ira Gershwin Gallery on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014.
Free and open to the public, the exhibition will run through March 2015.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is one of the world’s leading performing-rights organizations, and through the past 100 years has been protecting the use of its members’ musical works, monitoring broadcast, online and live usage and ensuring that music creators are fairly compensated. In the last five years, ASCAP has distributed more than $5 billion in royalties to its songwriters, composers and music publishers.
On display at the Library of Congress from Feb. 13, 2014 through July 26, 2014, the exhibition, “ASCAP: One Hundred Years and Beyond,” celebrated the ASCAP Collection at the Library of Congress on the occasion of the organization’s centennial. The exhibition can be viewed online at www.loc.gov/exhibits/ascap-100-years-and-beyond/.
The exhibition recalls notable moments and artists in its history, exploring its current work and challenges, and looking to its future as a force in mentoring and inspiring the creativity of new generations. It includes sheet music, photographs, pamphlets, posters and more.
The exhibition is made possible through the generous support of The Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trust for the benefit of the Library of Congress.
In 2009, the Music Division of the Library of Congress acquired archival materials from The ASCAP Foundation. The collection contains video and audio materials, photos, scores, documents and artifacts relevant to the rich history of ASCAP and its members as contributors to American culture.
The Music Division holds the world’s largest music collection, with more than 21 million items. Particular areas of strength include opera (scores and librettos), stage and screen musicals, chamber music, jazz and American popular song. The division is home to approximately 600 archival collections, most of them the personal papers (including music scores, correspondence, photographs, legal and financial documents, programs, clippings and other materials) documenting the lives and careers of stellar composers and performers. The division also holds a significant and growing body of materials documenting dance and theater. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/perform/.
For more information about ASCAP and its 100th anniversary, visit www.ascap.com.
The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, holds more than 158 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats. The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov.