ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

PAOLO CONTE PAPERS

COLLECTION: OGL #1290

DATES: 1890-1966

SIZE: 2 linear feet, 2 audio cassette tapes, 1 roll of microfilm, 6 long playing records, The Dacotah: 1924, 12 photographs, Front page of Grand Forks Herald: 4/10/1919

INTRODUCTION

AQUISITION: The Paolo Conte Papers were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection as a gift of William R. Conte (Paolo Conte's son), Olympia, WA on July 15, 1994.

ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Dr. Paolo Conte was born in Palermo, Italy on February 29, 1890 to Gaetano and Clorinda Conte. His musical talents were demonstrated at four years of age, when he was heard improvising on the piano. He received his musical education in Venice, where he was a student of Tagliapietra, Wolf-Ferrari, and Busoni. He earned a master's degree in psychology and his doctorate in musicology from the University of Padua. In August 1914, Dr. Conte came to UND to teach piano and composition at Wesley College. Here Paolo met his bride. Mary Esther Johnson was his first student to enroll for private instruction, and on August 10, 1915 she became his wife. They were married in Dunseith, ND. On May 26, 1921 their only child, William R. Conte, was born. In the fall of 1923 Dr. Conte became the Dean of Fine Arts at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, OK. He remained there until 1936 when he accepted a position at the University of Wichita in Kansas. He was also the Minister of Music at the First Baptist Church in Wichita. In 1952 he moved to his summer home in Colorado Springs, CO, where he was semi-retired. He served as an organist of Audubon Heights Baptist Church in Colorado Springs and taught piano in the Pikes Peak Region.

Dr. Paolo Conte died in Colorado Springs on September 11, 1966 at age seventy-six. His compositions number in the hundreds and have been used in teaching, radio, and movies.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The collection includes many compositions of Paolo Conte and other music related material. Also included are biographical and background information on Dr. Conte, his wife, and his parents; many clippings and scrapbook materials; and information on the Conte Foundation. Most of this collection has been left as arranged by William Conte. His inventory has been placed in box 1, folder 1. William Conte placed labels on all materials within the collection, which correspond to numbers on his inventory. Conte's listing of compositions according to the Master File number as well as his compositions can be found in box 2. Some materials such as the cassette tapes, records, microfilm, photographs, front page of the Grand Forks Herald, and The Dacotah have been separated from the collection and placed elsewhere within the Department.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder

  1. William Conte's inventory.
  2. Hymnal: "Great Redeemer, Composition #95".
  3. A composition in Braile: "At Sunset, #4".
  4. Libretto: "A Prince Has Come to Town" (A Muscial Comedy).
  5. Libretto: "Idylwild Inn" (A Musical Comedy).
  6. A player piano roll: "The Old Love Story".
  7. Music Company Catalogues.
  8. The Toronto Conservatory of Music Catalogue indicating numbers composed by Paolo Conte acceptable for auditions and in competitions.
  9. Paolo Conte: A Musician for the Plains, copyright 1985.
  10. The Johnson's of ND, an account of Mary Esther (Johnson) Conte's family.
  11. Paolo Conte: A Musician for the Plains, an Addendum.
  12. Significant clippings and documents concerning a Christmas party in Boston for Italian children, Shakespeare Masque in Grand Forks, UND fraternity houses (symbols of Conte's Americanization), ZAI Music Sorority, an introductory concert at the Oklahoma Baptist University, a concert in Colorado, and an introduction to the University of Wichita, 1902-1937.
  13. The University of Witchita Biennial Catalogue, 1938-1939, 1939-1940.
  14. An album of clippings from Italy and North Dakota with flyers relating to concerts in North Dakota, 1913-1918.
  15. Special documentation regarding naturalization and tickets of passage, programs of interest in North Dakota and Oklahoma, Conte's concerts, a bulletin about "Downtown" University of Wichita, a biographical sketch and death notices; 1927-1966.
  16. Oklahoma Baptist University Bulletins, 1923-1936.
  17. Clippings from Oklahoma Baptist University Newspaper regarding Conte's work there, 1923-1936.
  18. The Conte Foundation.
  19. Albums containing programs, announcements, clippings,and flyers, 1891-1931, some undated material.
  20. Gaetano Conte: His Life and His Works.
  21. Significant correspondence between the Conte family and the Oklahoma Baptist University and the University of North Dakota, 1923-1969.
  22. Pages from Oklahoma Baptist University yearbook, Yahnseh.
  23. Vital statistics, family tree, location of Conte writings, and addresses of family members as of summer, 1994.

Box 2
Folder

  1. Listing of compositions according to Master File number.
  2. Compositions of Paolo Conte.
  3. Compositions of Paolo Conte.
  4. Compositions of Paolo Conte.
  5. Compositions of Paolo Conte.
  6. Compositions of Paolo Conte.
  7. Compositions of Paolo Conte.
  8. Compositions of Paolo Conte.
  9. Compositions of Paolo Conte.
  10. Compositions of Paolo Conte.
  11. Compositions of Paolo Conte.
  12. Compositions of Paolo Conte.
  13. Compositions of Paolo Conte.

SEPARATIONS RECORD

Twelve photographs have been separated and added to the Orin G. Libby Photograph Collection.
OGL #1290-1 Mary Esther (Johnson) Conte, 1940.
OGL #1290-2 Mary Esther (Johnson) Conte, 1933.
OGL #1290-3 Wichita Kansas, First Baptist Church, Paolo Conte at organ, 1950.
OGL #1290-4 Choir and Organ, First Baptist Church, New Auditorium, Wichita Kansas, Paolo Conte on left, 1950.
OGL #1290-5 Chorus and Cast of a musical comedy, Witchita, Kansas at the University of Wichita, 1945.
OGL #1290-6 Methodist Church, Grand Forks, ND, Paolo Conte, 1920.
OGL #1290-7 Paolo Conte in his studio in Wesley College, University of North Dakota
OGL #1290-8 Clorinda Conte, mother of Paolo Conte, 1900.
OGL #1290-9 Gaetano Conte, father of Paolo Conte, 1900.
OGL #1290-10Paolo Conte, age 73, 1963.
OGL #1290-11Paolo Conte, Professor of Music, Wesley College, 1920.
OGL #1290-12Paolo Conte at organ, Wichita, Kansas, 1950.

Two audio cassette tapes were separated and added to the Audio Tape Collection
#1334-"The Music of Paolo Conte"
#1335-Memorial Concert given on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the opening of the Oklahoma Baptist University.

Six records were separated and housed next to the Audio Tape Collection.
"Concert in G Minor" (2 long play records)
"The Organ and Music of Paolo Conte" (4 long play records)

One roll of microfilm was separated and placed in the microfilm cabinets
OGL #1290-"Compositions of Paolo Conte"

The Dacotah for 1924 was separated and added to University Publications.

The front page of the Grand Forks Herald dated 4/10/1919 that includes an advertisement for Dr. Conte's organ recital has been separated and placed elsewhere within the Department of Special Collections.

 Original Donation  First Addition: 1915, 1921
 Second Addition: 1915, 1921  

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