Sayda Desiree Gonzalez and Dr. Jeffrey Shumway, School of Music
I have enjoyed the research process of for my project “Manuel M. Ponce” so much! Not only have I gained valuable knowledge, but also, I have made new friends and connections in the world of music in Mexico.
My project was to write a book about Manuel M. Ponce’s piano literature, and as part of my research I had plans to visit the national music archives at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City, but they denied me the access to go see Ponce’s manuscripts. I needed to see the manuscripts to analyze the music and provide an analysis for my book; that was the first challenge I had to deal with.
Luckily, through friends, and friends of friends, I was able to get some scores that have been out of print for more than 70 years. The renowned Mexican pianist Jorge Federico Osorio (who teaches at the Chicago College-Conservatory of music and has done several recordings of Ponce’s music) sent me some scores that have been out of print since 1937. My former piano teacher in Mexico helped me get in touch with the Moscow Conservatory Library, and they sent me some sheet music as well.
At the time I was doing my research, I took a graduate class called Music 500, which is a research class taught by Dr. David Day. I learned about all the resources the BYU library has for us, and I was able to get sources through the interlibrary loan for my research. I was able to find some bibliographies, dischographies, biographies, and a complete list of Ponce’s works, which helped me come up with my own piano repertoire list.
All the information has been gathered and although is not ready to be published in a book (like my original plans were) it will be presented at the National Conference of the Music Teachers’ National Association in California on March 9th. It will also be presented in Monterrey Mexico in May (exact date to be announced), and in two more local presentations in Utah.
My plans for the future have expanded now that I know more about research techniques; I would also like to write an annotated bibliography exclusively for Ponce’s piano works.
I would like to thank you for believing in me, and for all of your support. It would not have been possible without this grant and without all the wonderful sources we have at the Harold B. Lee Library.