Oberlin Conservatory Library August 19, 2015 Michael J Rogan, President, Music Library Association Lilly Music Library Granoff Music Center, Tufts University 20 Talbot Avenue Medford, MA 02155 Dear President Rogan, On behalf of the Walter Gerboth Award Committee, it gives me great pleasure to announce that Dr Sonia Archer-Capuzzo has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the Walter Gerboth Award, which is given annually to a member of MLA who is in the first five years of their professional library careers to assist research-in-progress in music or music librarianship Dr Archer-Capuzzo’s project "Constructing a Biography of Lev Aronson” will build toward sharing the legacy of Lev Aronson (1912-1988) He was a cellist, teacher, and composer who was born in Germany, grew up in Latvia and Russia and survived imprisonment in five concentration camps during World War II He then immigrated to the United States, winning a position as principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Archer-Capuzzo’s research will result in the first Grove article on the influential cellist and teacher and ultimately a comprehensive biography As Dr Archer-Capuzzo wrote in her proposal, "Aronson's story of survival and resilience, and his passion for music and education, should not be lost." The research project includes interviews with living acquaintances and former students of Aronson's who provide a direct connection to his musical life and career The Gerboth award will support recording and transcription of those interviews Additionally, the funding will support translations of materials in Aronson’s collection located at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Most of these materials were written in German or Yiddish, and the translations will bring this repertoire into the public realm Aronson corresponded extensively with cellist Rudolph Matz, with whom he co-authored The Complete Cellist, an important cello technique study Dr Archer-Capuzzo holds both an MLIS (2011) and a DMA- Clarinet, secondary concentration in Ethnomusicology (2008) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Sincerely, Kathleen A Abromeit Oberlin Conservatory l 77 West College Street l Oberlin, Ohio 44074 l [P] 440.775.5131 Oberlin Conservatory Library Kathy Abromeit, Chair, MLA Walter Gerboth Committee Rebecca Belford and Rebecca Littman, committee members Oberlin Conservatory l 77 West College Street l Oberlin, Ohio 44074 l [P] 440.775.5131