Composers -- Correspondence

Eva Jessye was born in Coffeyville, Kansas on January 20, 1895. She attended Western University and Langston University, receiving her BA in 1919. In 1935, Jessye became the choral director for the premiere production of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. In the 1980s, Jessye was appointed the Kansas Ambassdaor for the Arts by Governor John Carlin who created the post for her.

Collection contains correspondence to dramatist Charles Henry Meltzer from well-known composers (1839-1928), including Cécile Chaminade, Gustave Charpentier, Alphonse Daudet, Claude Debussy, Edward Elgar, George Gershwin, Jules Massenet, Felix Mendelssohn-Barthody, Giacomo Puccini, and Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. Also includes newspaper clippings relating to Meltzer, and a typescript transcription of Meltzer's biography.