Archive of two binders of handwritten music notations, notes and essays belonging to George Greeley, circa 1945-1946

N.p. N.p., Circa 1945-1948. Archive of two 3-ring binders containing handwritten music notations, notes, essays, and course outlines, belonging to composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist George Greeley, circa 1945-46.

Approximately 130 pages of handwritten music notations, notes, essays, and course outlines, with occasional pages dated from November 1945 through April 1946. Laid in to the first binder is a folded two-page handwritten music notation entitled "Canon," dated "11 Dec. 1945," a mimeograph-duplicated page of "Music 138 / Reading List First Five Weeks," undated, and a later typed letter signed from Colonel J.U. Weaver of the Office of the Commanding General at the Army Medical Center, dated "3 December 1948," to "George Greely" (sic), thanking him for a program performed at the Washington DC hospital by Greeley and "Mr. Adler" (likely lyricist and composer Richard Adler) the month prior.

The first generic green binder consists of approximately 95 pages, with page-dividers titled "Mus. Hist.," "Counterpt.," and "Psych," and has pages dating from November 1945 through early January 1946, with approximately 60 pages of handwritten notes and essays (most on rectos only), and 34 pages of handwritten musical notations (most on rectos and versos).

The second item is University of Southern California (USC) binder with approximately 60 pages, with a single used page divider labeled "Orch," and has pages dating from March 1946 through April 1946. Eleven pages consist of handwritten notes (most on rectos only) and 23 pages consist of handwritten musical notations (many on rectos and versos). The binder also contains about 22 blank music sheets and five unused page-dividers turned upside-down and face-out in the rear of the binder, labeled "Canon Fugue," "Radio Trotter," "Rozsa," "Comp. Eisler," and "Mus Hist."

Among the music notations found in the binder include extensive counterpoint notations, canons, a waltz, a fugue by Schoenberg, and many other music studies. Essays include "How to Study," "The World of Show Business," and "Bach," as well as extensive notes on Bach, music history, as well as class notes, assignments, exams, and reading requirements. Also of note is a "Bare Necessities Expenses" page listing Greeley's costs of basic living necessities.

An extraordinary pianist, Greeley worked as a staff pianist at Columbia Pictures beginning in 1949, and performed on hundreds of motion pictures (including Leonard Bernstein's score for the classic 1954 Elia Kazan film "On The Waterfront"), working with numerous famous composers orchestrating their soundtrack compositions, as well as arranging and composing for the studio. By the 1960s, Greeley was prolific writing musical themes and underscores for television, which included "My Favorite Martian" (one of the first times electronic music was used in television), "My Living Doll," "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," and "Nanny and the Professor." Greeley also worked as a recording artist for Warner Bros. Records, producing and performing on 15 albums for piano and full orchestra between 1957 and 1967.

During World War II Greeley conducted a US Air Force band at the Santa Ana California Army Air Base, and, as seen in the archives found here, spent the months immediately following the war studying music at University of Southern California. Prior to the war he studied music at Columbia University and graduated from Julliard in 1939, for which he had won a scholarship. During this time he was living in Studio City, Los Angeles (noted on page-dividers in both of the binders). It was around the same time, three years prior to his work at Columbia Pictures, that Greeley had studied composition privately with composer Ernst Toch.

Both Binders 10 x 11.5 inches. Binders and contents Near Fine overall, with some pages becoming detached from the binder rings.

[Book #167822]