urn:taro:utsa.00118 A Guide to the Opera Guild of San Antonio Records, 1952-2012 (bulk 1974-2007) September 2007Encoded in XMetal 3 by Angela McClendon according to instructions in TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. 5 September 2008Edited in XMetal Author by Angela McClendon to reflect the deaccessioning of restricted financial materials (Boxes 36-37).19 May 2009Edited in XMetal Author by Tatina Wulzer to reflect additions and updated information.21 July 2009Edited in XMetal Author by Tatina Wulzer to reflect additions and updated information.7 August 2009Edited in XMetal Author by Tatina Wulzer to reflect additions and updated information.26 August 2009Edited in XMetal Author by Angela McClendon Ossar to reflect addition.23 June 2010Edited in XMetal Author by Rose Rodriguez to reflect addition. Descriptive Summary Opera Guild of San Antonio Opera Guild of San Antonio Records in dedication to Joe Stuessy 1952-2012 1974-2007 Materials are in English. MS 103 27.8 linear feet (44 Boxes) University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections The Opera Guild of San Antonio was founded in 1974 as a nonprofit educational and charitable association to promote the awareness of opera and encourage its growth. The Opera Guild of San Antonio Records include correspondence, reports, minutes, agendas, scrapbooks, invitations, brochures, photographs, ephemera, and yearbooks and documents the public and administrative activities of the group. Historical Note

The Opera Guild of San Antonio (Opera Guild) was founded in 1974 as a nonprofit educational and charitable association under the auspices of the Women's Committee of the San Antonio Symphony, now known as the Symphony League. Its mission is to promote the awareness of opera and encourage its growth. The original name of the Opera Guild was the Opera Guild of the Symphony Society, and was founded by Ginger Karren. Karren worked with Margaret King Stanley, President of the Symphony Women's Committee, to establish an organization to support the Symphony's annual opera season. The work of the Guild included student performances, opera previews, an opera talent search and an Opera in the Schools project. Fundraising was one of the society's major efforts.

After the San Antonio Symphony announced that it would no longer produce opera, the society changed its name to Opera Guild of San Antonio and began to focus on opera projects in the local community. Fundraisers helped the Opera Guild support a multitude of opera-related activities.

 Scope and Content Note

The Opera Guild of San Antonio Records span the years 1952-2011 and include correspondence, reports, minutes, agendas, scrapbooks, invitations, brochures, photographs, ephemera, and yearbooksand documents the public and administrative activities of the group. The collection is organized into ten series: Administrative, Financial, Membership, Publicity, Education, Cooperating Organizations, Events, Scrapbooks, Other Materials and Additions.

The Administrative series contains meeting minutes of the Board of Directors, founding documents, awards, correspondence, legal documents, and committee work.

The Financial series includes detailed monthly financial analyses, financial reports of events and gatherings, and grants administered and received by the Opera Guild.

The Membership series contains detailed lists of members, information pertaining to members' volunteer activities, general membership meeting minutes, yearbooks, president's reports, historical background of the organization, list of events, committee updates, operatic opportunities, donation information, contact information, and meeting dates.

The Publicity series is comprised chiefly of newspaper clippings; also included are radio, television, and print advertisements, brochures, and a printout of the Opera Guild's Web site.

The Education series pertains to educational outreach efforts of the Opera Guild, including the Opera in the Schools and Adult Opera Education programs.

The Cooperating Organizations series documents collaborations between the Opera Guild and similar organizations, including the San Antonio Symphony, San Antonio Symphony League, San Antonio Symphony Society, Women's Committee of the San Antonio Symphony Society, Department of Music at University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio's Lyric Opera, The Santa Fe opera, and the New York Metropolitan National Opera Council. Materials include correspondence, programs, yearbooks, newspaper clippings, and other materials.

The Events series contains planning files, reports, correspondence, invitations and photographs that document various events held and sponsored by the Opera Guild.

The Scrapbooks series consists of memory albums put together by members of the Opera Guild which document their activities. The albums contain photographs, programs, and other items.

The Other Materials series contains photographs, audiovisual materials, printed materials, and memorabilia. Memorabilia includes Opera Guild t-shirts and magnetic buttons. Also includes materials pertaining to HemisFair '68.

Large-format print materials have been removed from their original series locations and relocated to Oversize Materials.

 Access Restrictions

This collection is housed at UTSA's Main Campus and must be accessed via the John Peace Library Special Collections reading room. To request access, please use the Collections Request Form.

 Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

 Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Opera Guild of San Antonio Records, 1956-2009, MS 103, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.

 Acquisition Information

Materials were donated by Opera Guild archivist Rayne German, Margaret King Stanley, and other members between 2000-2012 (Acc. 2000-030, 2002-063, 2003-016, 2003-028, 2003-032, 2003-045, 2004-028, 2004-070, 2004-083, 2004-090, 2004-095, 2004-098, 2004-108, 2005-060, 2005-086, 2006-001, 2006-022, 2006-082, 2007-062, 2007-068, 2008-025, 2009-042, 2009-047, 2010-025, 2011-029, 2011-031, 2012-035).

 Processing Information

Processed by: Amber Castor, Archives Intern, August 2007, and Angela McClendon, Manuscripts Archivist, September 2007.

Encoded by: Angela McClendon, October 2007, August 2009; Tatina Wulzer, Collections Assistant, May 2009, July 2009, August 2009; Rose Rodriguez, Collections Assistant, June 2010.

 Index Terms Organizations Opera Guild of San Antonio. Topics Charities--History--20th century. Charities--Texas--San Antonio. Charities--United States. Charity organization--Texas--San Antonio. Fund raising--Texas--San Antonio. Nonprofit organizations--Texas--San Antonio. Opera--Texas--San Antonio. Opera--United States--20th century. Societies and clubs--History--20th century. Societies and clubs--Texas--San Antonio. Women--Texas--San Antonio--Societies and clubs. Women in charitable work. Locations San Antonio (Tex.)--Societies and clubs. Genre/Form Clippings. Correspondence. Ephemera. Minutes. Photographs. Scrapbooks.Reports.Invitations.Programs. Local Subjects Entertainment/Entertainers Music/Musicians San Antonio History Detailed Description of the Collection Administrative, 1977-2007 and undated

This series contains meeting minutes of the Board of Directors, founding documents, awards, correspondence, legal documents, and committee work. Meeting minutes of the Board of Directors, comprising the bulk of this series, provide documentation of issues facing the Opera Guild and the areas of opera activities with which the organization was concerned. Founding documents provide in-depth information about the birth and origins of the organization. Also included are invitations from the presidents to members, other correspondence, job descriptions for various offices, and lists of officers of the organization over the years.

 1 1 Founding and governing documents, 1983, 2000-2007, and undated 1 2 Proposed bylaw amendments, 1999-2007 1 3 History and background of Opera Guild, 1983-2004 and undated 1 4 Opera Guild logo, undated 1 5-6 Legal, 1983-2005 and undated 1 7 Employment, 1984, 2006, and undated 1 8 Various Committees, 1984-2007 and undated 1 9 Long Range Planning Committee, 1988, 1999-2005 1 10 Controversies, 1995-2003 and undated 1 11 Awards [2 plaques removed to Oversize Materials, Box OM1], 1977-2006 and undated 2 Correspondence, 1977-2006 and undated 2 1 Incoming, 1977-1990, 2000-2005, and undated 2 2 Outgoing, 1979-1980, 2000-2006, and undated 2 3-4 Presidential, 1979-2006 and undated 2 5 Postcards and greeting cards sent to Opera Guild, undated 2 Board of Directors, 1979-2007 and undated 2 6 Meeting invitations and announcements, 2000-2007 2 7 Job descriptions, 1987-1990, 2000-2006, and undated 2 8 Reports and summaries, 1984-2006 and undated 2 9 Correspondence, 1987-2007 and undated 2 10 Lists of officers, 1979-2007 and undated 2 11 Meeting agendas, 1986-2007 3 1-10 Meeting minutes, 1980-1989 4 1-9 Meeting minutes, 1990-1999 5 1-8 Meeting minutes, 2000-2007 and undated Financial, 1972-2007 and undated

Provides information how the Opera Guild raised, invested, and spent the funds that passed in and out of the organization. Treasurer's Reports include detailed monthly financial analyses for the Opera Guild. Grants includes grants administered, as well as received, by the Opera Guild.

 6 1-3 Treasurer's Reports, 1981-2007 6 4 Treasurer's Reports to the Board of Directors, 1981-2007 6 5 Financial Reports, 1981-1990, 2001-2007 and undated 6 6 Budgets, 1989-2005 6 7-8 Financial statements and reports of events held by Opera Guild, 1982-2007 and undated 6 9 Treasurer information, undated 6 10 Printing and mailing, 1988-1990, 2000-2006, and undated 7 Gifts, 1984-2007 and undated 7 1 Awarded by Opera Guild, 1984-2007 and undated 7 2 Awarded to Opera Guild, 1984-2006 7 3 Correspondence, 1984-2005 7 4 Walker House, 1972-1978, 1991-2000, and undated 7 5-6 Gift shop, 1980-1988 and undated 8 1-2 Fundraising, 1982-2006 and undated 8 3 Corporate sponsors, 1984-2004 and undated 8 Grants, 1985-2007 and undated 8 4 Committee reports to Board of Directors, 2004-2007 8 5 Correspondence 8 6 Miscellaneous information 9 1-3 Awarded by Opera Guild, 1985-1988, 2001-2007, and undated 9 4-5 Awarded to Opera Guild, 1989-1990, 2002-2007 Membership, 1966-2007 and undated

Contains information about the members of the Opera Guild, including detailed lists of members and addresses and information pertaining to members' volunteer activities. General membership meeting minutes provide insight into what problems faced the Opera Guild and where in the opera world the members wanted to concentrate their focus. The bulk of this series is comprised of annual yearbooks published by the Opera Guild, each containing a president's report, history of the organization, list of events, committee updates, operatic opportunities, donation information, contact information, and meeting dates.

 10 1-3 Addresses, 1987-2004 and undated 10 4 New members, 1979-1987, 1998-2005 10 5 General membership meeting invitations, 1997-2007 10 6 Opera Circle Reception Invitations, 1980-2001 10 7 Correspondence, 1990-2006 and undated 11 1-4 General membership meeting minutes, 1981-2007 and undated 11 5 Meeting attendance, 1990-1999 and undated 11 6 Lists of members, 1994-2001 and undated 11 7 Biographical information on prominent members, 1999-2002 11 8 Membership renewals and reminders, 1986-2007 and undated 11 9 Dues paid, 1988-2003 11 10 Dues not paid and inactive members, 1966-2002 11 11 Membership committee meeting minutes, 2000-2004 and undated 11 12 Lists of volunteers, 1986-2004 and undated 12 Membership cards, 1996-2000 13 Membership cards, 2001-2003 14 1-7 Yearbooks, 1977-1993 15 1-6 Yearbooks, 1994-2007 16 1 Yearbook additions, 1984-2003 and undated 16 2 Statistics and reports, 1985-1991, 2002-2005 16 3 Miscellaneous, undated Publicity, 1979-2007 and undated

Documents publicity efforts of the Opera Guild and is comprised chiefly of newspaper clippings relating details of events held by Opera Guild or attended by members. The series also includes radio, television, and print advertisements, brochures, and a printout of the Opera Guild's Web site.

 16 4 Brochures, undated 16 5 Marketing information, 1979 and undated 16 6-7 Newsletters, 1985-2002 and undated 16 8 Newspaper clippings, 1980-2007 and undated [Items removed to Oversize Materials, Boxes OM2-OM3] 16 9 Opera Guild in other organizations' newsletters and publications, 2005-2006 16 10 Radio and television advertisements, 1984-2005 16 11 Web site, 2001-2007 Education, 1980-2007 and undated

The Education series is divided into three subseries: Adult Opera Education, Education Committee, and Opera in the Schools. The Adult Opera Education subseries includes opera study guides, as well as announcements and invitations for members to the Opera Enhancement Evenings. The Opera in the Schools subseries documents the partnership between Opera Guild and the UTSA School of Music, an effort to introduce small-scale operas to students of local public and private elementary schools, as well as home-schooled students. Materials include correspondence, financial documents, educational material, programs, and brochures of operas. Also included are thank-you letters from teachers and students. A third subseries, Education Committee, includes correspondence and reports from the Education Committee.

 17 1-4 Adult Opera Education, 1980-2007 and undated 17 5 Education Committee, 1987-1988, 2000-2004, and undated 17 Opera in the Schools, 1984-2007 and undated 17 6 Children's thank-you letters, 1985-2006 and undated 17 7 Teachers' thank-you letters, 1984, 2003-2007, and undated 17 8 Thank-you letters from Opera Guild, 1988, 2002-2007 18 1 Teacher evaluations, 2005-2006 and undated 18 2-4 Financial and legal, 1987-2005 and undated 18 5 Invoices to the City, 1991-1994 18 6 Programs and brochures, undated 18 7 Photographs, 2003-2006 and undated 18 8 Schedules and schools involved, 1991, 2006, and undated 18 9 Donations, 1987, 2002-2006, and undated 18 10 General correspondence, 1986-1989, 2004, and undated 19 1-2 Opera books presented to schools, 2005-2006 19 3-4 Educational materials, 1996-2007 and undated Cooperating Organizations, 1952-2007 and undated

The Cooperating Organizations series documents collaborations between the Opera Guild and similar organizations, including the San Antonio Symphony, San Antonio Symphony League, San Antonio Symphony Society, Women's Committee of the San Antonio Symphony Society, Department of Music at University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio's Lyric Opera, The Santa Fe opera, and the New York Metropolitan National Opera Council. Materials include correspondence, programs, yearbooks, newspaper clippings, and other materials.

 19 5 Chamber Opera Theater, 1983-1986 and undated 19 6-7 Community arts organizations, 1985-2005 and undated 19 Lyric opera , 1999-2006 and undated 19 8 La Traviata, 2001 and undated 19 9 Miscellaneous, 1999-2006 and undated 20 1 Opera America, 1991-1994 and undated 20 2-4 Other cities' opera organizations, 1963, 1976-2005, and undated 20 5 San Antonio Festival, 1979-1989 20 6 San Antonio Opera Company, 1993-1999 20 7 Metropolitan National Opera Council, 1978-2007 20 8 Opera Guilds International and Opera Volunteers International, 1985-1998 21 1 Opera Guilds International and Opera Volunteers International, 1999-2007 21 2-6 San Antonio Symphony, 1956-1978 22 1-6 San Antonio Symphony, 1979-2006 and undated 22 7 San Antonio Symphony League yearbooks, 1979-1985 23 1-3 San Antonio Symphony League yearbooks, 1985-2000 23 San Antonio Symphony Society, 1952-1979 23 4-6 Grand Opera Festival programs, 1952-1965 24 1-3 Grand Opera Festival programs, 1966-1973 24 4-6 Women's Committee of the San Antonio Symphony Society yearbooks, 1954-1967 25 1-4 Women's Committee of the San Antonio Symphony Society yearbooks, 1967-1979 25 University of Texas at San Antonio, 1984-2007 and undated 25 5 Incoming correspondence, 1985-2007 25 6 Outgoing correspondence, 2003-2007 25 7 Scholarships, 1999-2007 25 8 Performances and events, 1984-1987, 2000-2007, and undated Events, 1979-2007 and undated

Contains planning files, reports, correspondence, invitations and photographs that document various events held and sponsored by the Opera Guild. The most extensively documented events in this series are the Balls and Dances, which served as social events and fundraisers for the members of the Opera Guild, and the Talent Search, which was an annual competition to seek and discover new talent in the field of opera. Also notable are the Opera Guild Trips, which are formally organized excursions to different destinations for the purpose of viewing opera. Other events include DVD showings of operas, membership parties, fashion shows, wine tastings, and the premiere of Gods of Mischief, a comic opera financially supported by Opera Guild.

 26 1 An Afternoon of Song, 1992-1993 26 2-7 Balls and Dances, 1982-2000 and undated 27 1 25th Anniversary Gala, 1999-2000 27 2 Fantasy Fortune, 1980 and undated 27 3 Movie and DVD showings, 1979-1992, 2004-2007, and undated 27 4-7 Opera Guild Trips, 1980-2007 28 1 Speakers, 1979-1980, 1997-2003 28 2 Wine tasting, 1999-2006 and undated 28 3 Dinners, 1997-2002 and undated 28 4 Holiday Soirees, 2001-2006 28 5 Vina Fiesta and Silent Auction, 2007 28 6 Spring Opera Fling, 1980, 1999-2001, and undated 28 7 Style Shows and Fashion Shows, 2001-2006 and undated 28 8 Various events, 1983-2003 and undated 28 9-10 Talent Search, 1987-1988 29 1-6 Talent Search, 1989-2003 and undated 29 7 UTSA performances in cooperation with Opera Guild, 2006-2007 and undated 29 8 Gods of Mischief, 2005 and undated Scrapbooks, 1975-2003

Consists of memory albums put together by members of the Opera Guild which document their activities. The albums contain photographs, programs, and other items.

 30 Scrapbooks, 1975-1982 31 Scrapbooks, 1982-1985 32 Scrapbooks, 1985-1995 OM4 Oversize scrapbooks, 1988-1989 OM5 Oversize scrapbooks, 1996-1999 OM6 Oversize scrapbook, 2002-2003 Other Materials, 1968-2003 and undated

Contains photographs, audiovisual materials, printed material, and memorabilia. Memorabilia include Opera Guild t-shirts and magnetic buttons.

 33 Memorabilia and audiovisual materials 34 1 Guest book, 1978 34 2 Notebook, 1992-1993 34 3-6 Photographs, 1983, 1999-2003, and undated 34 7 Opera News magazine: San Antonio Salute issue, 1970 34 8Assorted materials, 1968-2002 and undated

Includes material pertaining to HemisFair '68 (the World's Fair in San Antonio, 1968).

 35 Photographs, undated Unprocessed materialsAddition of May 2008 (Accession 2008-025) 36 News clippings, programs, flyers, correspondence, invitations, newsletters, board meeting agendas, 2007-2008 36 Opera Guild plaque to Margaret King Stanley for Outstanding Support, November 16, 2007 36 Brundibar materials - Opera Guild Education Committee (4th year of Education Program with UTSA, 2005-2006 36 Yolanda Hernandez, 2007 36 General Educational material, 2006 36 Other material, 2006-2008 36 Menotti - The Medium/The Old Maid, 2006 36 Brundibar, 2005-2006 36 Taffetas, 2006 36 City Grant, 2006 36 Pirates of Penzance, 2006 38Addition of July 2009 (Accession 2009-042)

Materials span the years 2008-2009 and include correspondence, invitations, programs, event schedules, meeting minutes, reports, clippings and other material related to programs put on or hosted by Opera Guild and material related to the business and administration of Opera Guild.

38Addition of August 2009 (Accession 2009-047)

Materials are from 2009 and includes a Utah Festival Opera Company tote bag, an Education committee report on the board meeting of April 2009, thank you letters from students and thank you cards, and a DVD, Cosi Fan Tutte.

36Addition of June 2010 (Accession 2010-025)

Materials are from 2009-2010 and includes includes correspondence, invitations, programs, newsletters, meeting minutes, reports, and clippings.

36Addition of June 2011 (Accession 2011-029)

Materials from 2009-2011, includes correspondence, programs, newsclippings, reports and a poster.

37Addition of July 2011 (Accession 2011-031)

Materials from 1999-2009, includes news clippings, event planning, mailings and assorted administrative materials.

39Addition of July 2012 (Accession 2012-035)

Materials from 2009-2012, includes minutes, correspondence and research materials on Jose Antoio Navarro for the commissioned opera, Navarro.