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Size | 1.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 800 items) |
Abstract | Velma Rooke was raised in Jacksonville, Fla., but spent her adulthood as a professional musician, music educator, and music therapist in New York, N.Y. Rooke studied at The Julliard School and Columbia University. From approximately 1933 until 1956, Rooke was first chair trombonist, relief pianist, and arranger for Phil Spitalny's Hour of Charm All-Girl Orchestra. After the orchestra disbanded in 1956, Rooke became first trombonist for the Great Neck Philharmonic Orchestra. She also worked as a music therapist at the Creative Arts Rehabilitation Center (CARC), commonly known as the Music Therapy Center from its inception in 1960 until the early 1980s. Rooke also conducted music therapy and lessons at various New York locations, including the veterans affairs hospital in the Bronx, the Reece School for Emotionally Disturbed Children, and the Turtle Bay Music School. The collection documents Velma Rooke's career as a musician, music educator, and music therapist. There are scores, including manuscript arrangements for the Hour of Charm All-Girl Orchestra; sheet music; song lyrics; personal notes and drafts; concert programs; brochures and newsletters from Rooke's workplaces; clippings; a few letters; photographs; and other materials. |
Creator | Rooke, Velma. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Sara Mannheimer, October 2012
Encoded by: Sara Mannheimer, October 2012
Preliminary arrangement by Diane Steinhaus, 2012
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Born in Alabama and raised in Jacksonville, Fla., Velma Rooke spent her adulthood as a professional musician, music educator, and music therapist in New York, N.Y. Rooke was a voice student of mezzo-soprano Mina Hager; she also studied at The Julliard School and Columbia University. From approximately 1933 until 1956, Rooke was first chair trombonist, relief pianist, and arranger for Phil Spitalny's Hour of Charm All-Girl Orchestra. After the orchestra disbanded in 1956, Rooke became first trombonist for the Great Neck Philharmonic Orchestra. She also worked as a music therapist at the Creative Arts Rehabilitation Center (CARC), commonly known as the Music Therapy Center from its inception in 1960 until the early 1980s; the CARC acronym came into common usage in the late 1980s and persisted until the center's closing in 1995. Rooke also conducted music therapy and lessons at various New York locations, including the Veterans Affairs Hospital in the Bronx, the Reece School for Emotionally Disturbed Children, and the Turtle Bay Music School.
Back to TopThe collection documents Velma Rooke's career as a musician, music educator, and music therapist. There are scores, including manuscript arrangements for the Hour of Charm All-Girl Orchestra; sheet music; song lyrics; personal notes and drafts; concert programs; brochures and newsletters from Rooke's workplaces; clippings; a few letters; photographs; and other materials.
Back to TopArrangement: Alphabetical.
Folder 1 |
Calendar, 1969With notations by Velma Rooke. |
Folder 2 |
Concert programs, 1949-1965 |
Folder 3 |
Hour of Charm All-Girl Orchestra, 1942-1988 and undatedPublicity materials and clippings with related news, including the obituary of Hour of Charm All-Girl Orchestra bandleader Phil Spitalny, 12 October 1970. There is also a letter, 9 February 1988, from Frances Scharett to Velma Rook's sister, Christine Howell, describing her life since leaving the Hour of Charm All-Girl Orchestra. |
Image Folder PF-20476/1 |
Photographs: Hour of Charm All-Girl Orchestra, circa 1942-1955Professional photographs of the orchestra and individual portraits of Velma Rooke. |
Folder 4-5
Folder 4Folder 5 |
Song lyrics, 1956-1961Index and lyrics for 100 popular and traditional songs, revised each year, for use during music therapy in hospitals. Distributed by the American Red Cross, New York Chapter-Hospital and Recreation Services. |
Folder 6-8
Folder 6Folder 7Folder 8 |
Music therapy, 1956-1969, 1991-1992, and undatedMaterials chiefly relate to Velma Rooke's work with the Creative Arts Rehabilitation Center (CARC) including drafts and notes regarding the logistics of music therapy in hospitals; drafts of letters, including a request for registration as a music therapist; proposals for music therapy programs at specific schools and hospitals, including Reece School; speeches educating about and advocating for music therapy; definitions and purpose of music therapy; and publications, articles, and clippings about music therapy. |
Folder 9 |
New York Singing Teachers Association newsletter and membership list, 1965, 1979 |
Folder 10-11
Folder 10Folder 11 |
Personal notebooks, undatedChiefly song lyrics, chords, and other notes; also includes a draft of "The Brownstone Saga." |
Folder 12-14
Folder 12Folder 13Folder 14 |
Scores, undatedChiefly manuscript arrangements, including trombone orchestral excerpts and other arrangements and transpositions, for teaching purposes. There is also a small amount of sheet music, song lyrics, and other materials. |
Folder 15 |
Scores: Arrangement for Hour of Charm All-Girl Orchestra, undatedManuscript arrangements for the Hour of Charm All-Girl Orchestra. |
Folder 16 |
Turtle Bay Music School, 1955-1969 and undatedChiefly annual brochures and newsletters; also includes three letters, 1957-1958 to Velma Rooke from the Turtle Bay Music School administrators, expressing thanks and providing information. |
Folder 17 |
Veterans Affairs Hospital, Bronx, N.Y., 1957-1970 and undatedThank you letters, newsletters, music service programs, and other materials relating to Velma Rooke's volunteer work with the daily patient music instruction program at the hospital. |