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Kirk Ridge Papers

An inventory of his papers at the Syracuse University Archives


Finding aid created by: Anna Obermayer
Date: 2015

Biography

Kirk Ridge

Kirk Ridge (1895-1991) was an American musician who taught at Syracuse University and served as Director of its School of Music. He studied at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and received his bachelor's degree in 1918. He served in the 64th infantry from June 1918 to June 1919 and did see combat while stationed in France. After his service ended Ridge studied with two composers, Zygmunt Stojowski in New York City from 1920 to 1923 and Severin Eisenberger in Vienna from 1924 to 1926. In 1923 Ridge composed the song "Blue Flower," which was published by G. Schirmer Inc. Ridge taught at Oberlin from 1926 to 1927 before coming to Syracuse. He was appointed to a professorship at Syracuse University in 1928.

Ridge served as the chairman for the graduate committee at the Syracuse University School of Music. He also often organized school concerts, traveled with students on tour and oversaw prospective students' auditions. In 1961 he became acting director of the School of Music. In 1962 his title was officially changed to Director of the School of Music, a position he held until he retired. When Ridge retired in 1964, he was honored with the title Professor emeritus of Piano and Director emeritus of the School of Music.

Scope and Content Note

The Kirk Ridge Papers span from 1905 to 1991, but the bulk of the materials are concentrated from 1927 to 1928 and from 1958 to 1959. The papers include photographic portraits, programs, correspondence, notes, and writings related to Ridge's concert tours from 1927 to 1928 in Europe. Because he toured in Germany, some of these documents are in German. Programs include concerts he played in Syracuse. Correspondence relates to Ridge's teaching at the Syracuse University School of Music, as well as art donations he made to Syracuse University and the Everson Museum of Art.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Newspaper clippings were removed from the collection and placed in the Syracuse University Clipping Files.

The University Archives holds a clipping file and a portrait file on Kirk Ridge.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Ridge, Kirk, 1895-1991.
Syracuse University.

Subjects

Music -- 20th century.
Music -- Instruction and study.
College teachers.
Higher education.

Types of Material

Concert programs.
Correspondence.
Drafts (documents)
Portraits.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Kirk Ridge Papers,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of J. Avery Head in 2008 and 2023.

Processing Information

Materials in this collection were placed in acid-free folders and an acid-free box. Delicate materials were placed in mylar sleeves.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically.

Table of Contents

Papers

Inventory