J. Stanley Ballinger
Biographical Sketch | Scope | Provenance | Access & Copyright | Container List
Physical description: .approximately 1.2 lin. ft. (One record carton and one document case). The contents of this collection are entirely paper files with the exception of two sheets of photographic proofs.
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Biographical Sketch: J. Stanley Ballinger, born in Liberal, Kansas in 1925, began playing violin at the age of nine, inspired by his father, a bluegrass fiddle player. In high school, Ballinger began his formal violin studies with Leoti Newland and went on to study with NBC violinist and conductor David Robertson. Ballinger received his Bachelor’s degree in violin from the University of Wichita, Kansas in 1950. Prior to attending college, Ballinger served briefly as a pilot in the U.S. Naval Air Corps. In 1952 Ballinger earned his master's degree in violin from Oberlin Conservatory.
For the next several years Ballinger held the position of Assistant Professor at Fort Hays Kansas State College, where he served as Orchestra Director and taught conducting and string instruments. Ballinger returned to Oberlin from 1958-1963, serving as Assistant and Acting Dean of the Conservatory. During this period, he also directed the Oberlin Orchestra and Collegiate Symphony and organized a Stravinsky festival. After leaving Oberlin, Ballinger attended the University of Illinois, where he earned his PhD in viola and conducting.
In 1965, Ballinger assumed the position of Chairman of the Music Department at Northern Illinois University that he retained until coming to New England Conservatory in 1977. While at NIU, Ballinger greatly increased the size of the department while becoming more selective in terms of musical ability. Under Ballinger’s leadership, several faculty ensembles were formed or affiliated with the department including the Vermeer Quartet, the Chicago Brass Quintet, the Electric Stereoptican, the Blackearth Percussion Group and the Illinois Chamber Orchestra.
Ballinger served as President of NEC from 1977-1982. After that time, Ballinger became an active member of the Meher Spiritual Center near Myrtle Beach, SC. This is a spiritual retreat named for the Indian spiritual leader, Meher Baba.
Scope and Content Note: This collection is organized into seven series:
1) Correspondence/Memoranda
2) Faculty Files
3) Academic Department Files
4) Administrative Department Files
5) Committee Records
6) Curriculum Records
7) Student Organization Records
10) Subject Files
11) External Files
12) Photographs
The first series includes general correspondence from the years 1977-1982; correspondence with NEC staff members; correspondence with NEC students/parents; selected correspondence with Gunther Schuller, Chester Williams, and the Alumni Club of Puerto Rico; and memoranda to faculty and the NEC Community. Go to container list.
The Faculty files series contains correspondence between individual faculty members and President Ballinger. Also included in this series is one folder concerning NEC faculty members who were also members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Go to container list.
Important materials contained in the Academic Department Files include reviews/proposals/structural changes involving the departments of Afro-American/Jazz Studies, Third Stream, Organ, Opera, Liberal Arts / Humanities, and Theory / Composition. Go to container list.
The Ballinger collection contains a small number of Administrative Department Files including those of Building Operations, Dean’s Office, Development, Libraries, Placement Office, and Residence Life. Of particular interest are the Building Operations records. Some of these document a refurbishment project for the Jordan Hall foyer. Planning/proposal documents for this project from the architectural firm Forbes, Hailey, Jeas and Erneman are found in this file. Other important Building Operations records include: a Facilities Transition Plan to make the campus handicap accessible, information concerning the use of the 295 Huntington Ave. building, and materials concerning the possible acquisition of Fisher Hill property in Brookline for expansion. Other topics covered in the Administrative Department files include the use of the College Center as a mental health facility; considerations in designing an NEC publicity brochure; the future status of the Placement Office; a Residence Hall Judiciary System; and the criteria for selecting a Resident Assistant. Finally, Ballinger’s administrative papers also detail the activities of the Community Services Department under the direction of Webster Lewis. Community Services records focus specifically on the New England Conservatory Magnet 636 Project, Supplementary Music, conducted at the Madison Park Annex during the 1976-1977 academic year.
The fifth series consists of records of the following committees: Board of Trustees, Executive Committee, Composition/Theory Committee, Evaluation Committee, Governing Committee, Long Range Planning Committee, and the Steering Committee. Among the most significant of the committee records is a report submitted by Ballinger to the Long Range Planning Committee of the Board of Trustees in March 1980. This report discusses the present state of affairs at NEC, and makes recommendations for NEC’s mission and goals, as well as improvements for students, faculty, programs and facilities. Two of the primary administrative topics evaluated during Ballinger’s years were the salary structure for faculty and guidelines for faculty promotions. These issues are addressed in the records of the Evaluation Committee, Governing Committee, and the Steering Committee. Go to container list.
Further steps toward the establishment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) program begun during Gunther Schuller’s tenure, are recounted in Ballinger’s Curriculum Records. Also documented in this sixth series are the Conservatory's affiliations with the Kodaly Center of America, the Kodaly Institute (Hungary), the Kodaly Musical Training Institute, the Orff Institute and Tufts University. These files also highlight discussions of joint programs between NEC and Harvard University and the Liszt Academy of Music. Go to container list.
Student Organization Records involve Ballinger’s interactions with the Committee for Concerned Students and the Student Council, including a Jazz Department student questionnaire. Go to container list.
Gifts/Fundraising records include general gift acknowledgements, foundation gift records (including the Rockefeller Foundation), correspondence with members of the Friends organization, scholarship donations, Challenge NEH grant matching gift acknowledgements, Warren Benevolent Fund materials, and non-financial gifts to NEC. Go to container list.
Ballinger's Special event files include records of formal NEC events such as Ballinger’s Inauguration, Convocation (1978) and Commencements (1978-1982). Other special events which took place at NEC during Ballinger’s presidency are: a Broadway review, a meeting of the New England-China Consortium, a concert given by the Contemporary Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, a benefit concert for NEC, and the premiere performance of Ray Luke’s opera Medea. This opera was awarded first prize in a 1979 competition jointly sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation and NEC. Go to container list.
Subject files of interest contain materials relating to the Voice of Firestone collection, the Gunther Schuller Center for American Music and the production of an LP recording of NEC’s Stravinsky Celebration by Crest Records. Another subject file documents discussions regarding an NEC-Boston Conservatory merger. Other subject files consist of correspondence regarding the selection of Ballinger as President of NEC, a music education editorial written by Ballinger for Ovation magazine, and biographical information about Ballinger. Go to container list.
Ballinger’s External files document NEC’s participation in several Boston area arts initiatives and organizations. These include the Massachusetts Council on the Arts, Public Action for the Arts, Neighborhood Music School, Boston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, the Paddock Island Art Park proposal (headed by Massachusetts College of Arts), the Massachusetts Design Council and the Consortium Task Force. This task force was comprised of representatives from the Boston Architectural Center, Emerson College, Massachusetts College of Art, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and NEC. Also significant is correspondence with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) regarding the Kodaly program at NEC.Go to container list.
Photographs consist of two sheets of professional proofs taken of President Ballinger for publicity purposes. Go to container list.
Provenance: This collection includes the materials created by, and belonging to J. Stanley Ballinger, who served as President of New England Conservatory from 1977-1982. The materials in this collection have been stored at NEC since Ballinger’s tenure.
Access: Access to the Ballinger Collection is granted by the Archivist or Director of Libraries. Appointments must be scheduled in advance. There are limited restrictions pertaining to this collection.
Copyright: All copyrights to this collection belong to the New England Conservatory. Permission to publish materials from this collection is granted by the Director of Libraries. This collection should be cited as: RG 1.9: Records of J. Stanley Ballinger Collection, President, 1977-1982. New England Conservatory Archives, Boston, MA.
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Series 1: Correspondence/Memoranda
Box 1 – Folder 1
Correspondence, General, 1977
Box 1 – Folder 2
Correspondence, General, 1978
Box 1 – Folder 3
Correspondence, General, 1979
Box 1 – Folder 4
Correspondence, General, 1980
Box 1 – Folder 5
Correspondence, General, 1981
Box 1 – Folder 6
Correspondence, General, 1982
Box 1 – Folder 7
Correspondence, Staff
Box 1 – Folder 8
Correspondence, Students
Box 1 – Folder 9
Memoranda to NEC Community
Box 1 – Folder 10
Memoranda to Faculty
Box 1 – Folder 11
Correspondence, Gunther Schuller
Box 1 – Folder 12
Correspondence, Chester Williams
Box 1 – Folder 13
Correspondence, Alumni Club of Puerto Rico
Box 1 – Folder 14
Faculty, General
Box 1 – Folder 15
Faculty, BSO members
Box 1 – Folder 16
Faculty - Battisti, Frank
Box 1 – Folder 17
Faculty – Blake, Ran
Box 1 – Folder 18
Faculty – Brink, Robert
Box 1 – Folder 19
Faculty – Ceely, Robert
Box 1 – Folder 20
Faculty – Cogan, Robert
Box 1 – Folder 21
Faculty – DeLay, Dorothy
Box 1 – Folder 22
Faculty – Epstein, Frank
Box 1 – Folder 23
Faculty – Felice, John
Box 1 – Folder 24
Faculty - Genovese, Alfred
Box 1 – Folder 25
Faculty - Halprin, Lee
Box 1 – Folder 26
Faculty – Hayashi, Yuko
Box 1 – Folder 27
Faculty – Heiss, John
Box 1 – Folder 28
Faculty – Hodam, Helen
Box 1 – Folder 29
Faculty – Hoffmann, James
Box 1 – Folder 30
Faculty – Hollenbeck, Patrick
Box 1 – Folder 31
Faculty - Krasner, Louis
Box 1 – Folder 32
Faculty - Moore, Richard
Box 1 – Folder 33
Faculty – Nagel, Robert
Box 1 – Folder 33a
Faculty – Pearson, Mark
Box 1 – Folder 34
Faculty – Pinkham, Daniel
Box 1 – Folder 35
Faculty – Pittman, Richard
Box 1 – Folder 36
Faculty – Rapier, Wayne
Box 1 – Folder 37
Faculty – Rosenbaum, Victor
Box 1 – Folder 38
Faculty – Row, Peter
Box 1 – Folder 38a
Faculty – Russell, George
Box 1 – Folder 39
Faculty – Stumpf, Thomas
Box 1 – Folder 39a
Faculty – Zander, Benjamin
Box 1 – Folder 6
Bequests
Series 3: Academic Department Records
Box 1 – Folder 40
Afro-American Studies/Jazz Studies
Box 1 – Folder 41
Brass and Percussion
Box 1 – Folder 42
Chamber Music
Box 1 – Folder 43
Chorus
Box 1 – Folder 44
Conducting
Box 1 – Folder 45
Liberal Arts
Box 1 – Folder 46
Music History/Musicology
Box 1 – Folder 47
Opera
Box 1 – Folder 48
Orchestra
Box 1 – Folder 49
Organ
Box 1 – Folder 50
Piano
Box 1 – Folder 51
Strings
Box 1 – Folder 52
Theory/Composition
Box 1 – Folder 53
Third Stream
Box 1 – Folder 54
Voice
Box 1 – Folder 55
Woodwinds
Series 4: Administrative Department Records
Box 1 – Folder 56
Building Operations
Box 1 – Folder 57
Community Services Dept, 1977-1978
Box 1 – Folder 58
Community Services Dept, 1979-1981
Box 1 – Folder 59
Dean’s Office
Box 1 – Folder 60
Development
Box 1 – Folder 61
Placement Office
Box 1 – Folder 61a
Public Relations
Box 1 – Folder 62
Residence Life
Box 1 – Folder 63
Board of Trustees
Box 1 – Folder 64
Composition/Theory Committee
Box 1 – Folder 65
Executive Committee
Box 1 – Folder 66
Evaluation Committee
Box 1 – Folder 67
Governing Committee
Box 1 – Folder 68
Governing Committee
Box 1 – Folder 69
Governing Committee
Box 1 – Folder 70
Long Range Planning Committee
Box 1 – Folder 71
Steering Committee
Box 1 – Folder 72
DMA records
Box 1 – Folder 73
Kodaly Center
Box 1 – Folder 74
Kodaly Institute (Hungary)
Box 1 – Folder 75
Kodaly Musical Training Institute
Box 1 – Folder 76
Orff Institute
Box 1 – Folder 77
Tufts University
Box 1 – Folder 78
Other NEC Affiliations
Series 7: Student Organization Records
Box 1 – Folder 79
Committee of Concerned Students
Box 1 – Folder 80
Student Council
Box 1 – Folder 81
Student Council, Jazz Dept. Questionnaire
Series 8: Gifts/Fundraising records
Box 1 – Folder 82
Gifts, General
Box 1 – Folder 83
Gifts, Foundations/Trusts
Box 1 – Folder 84
Gifts, Scholarship
Box 1 – Folder 85
Fundraising, Friends Organization
Box 1 – Folder 86
Fundraising, NEH Grant
Box 1 – Folder 87
Warren Benevolent Fund
Box 1 – Folder 88
Gifts, Other
Series 9: Special Event Records
Box 1 – Folder 89
Broadway Review
Box 1 – Folder 90
Carnegie Hall – Contemporary Ensemble
Box 1 – Folder 91
Cogan Concert
Box 1 – Folder 92
Commencement, 1978
Box 1 – Folder 93
Commencement, 1979
Box 1 – Folder 94
Commencement, 1980
Box 1 – Folder 95
Commencement, 1981
Box 1 – Folder 96
Commencement, 1982
Box 1 – Folder 97
Convocation, 1978
Box 1 – Folder 98
Inauguration, Ballinger
Box 1 – Folder 99
Medea (Ray Luke’s Opera)
Box 1 – Folder 100
New England – China Consortium Meeting
Box 1 – Folder 101
NEC Benefit Concert
Box 1 – Folder 101a
World Music for Peace
Box 1 – Folder 102
Biographical Information (Ballinger)
Box 1 – Folder 103
Firestone Collection
Box 1 – Folder 104
Gunther Schuller Center for American Music
Box 1 – Folder 104a
Halls at NEC
Box 1 – Folder 105
Boston Conservatory/NEC Merger
Box 1 – Folder 106
Ovation Magazine Article
Box 1 – Folder 107
Presidential Search
Box 1 – Folder 108
Recordings
Box 2 – Folder 1
Boston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs
Box 2 – Folder 1b
Boston Consortium for Professional Arts
Box 2 – Folder 2
Center for US-China Arts Exchange
Box 2 – Folder 3
Massachusetts Board of Education
Box 2 – Folder 4
Massachusetts College of Art – Massachusetts Design Council
Box 2 – Folder 5
Massachusetts College of Art- Paddock Island Art Park
Box 2 – Folder 6
Massachusetts College of Art – Consortium
Box 2 – Folder 7
Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities
Box 2 – Folder 8
New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
Box 2 – Folder 9
Neighborhood Music School
Box 2 – Folder 10
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Box 2 – Folder 11
Public Action for the Arts
Box 2 – Folder 12
Seven Springs
Box 2 – Folder 13
Photograph proofs