The Music Department Photograph Collection contains 638 photographs of musicians who have participated in events of the Music Deptartment dating back to ca. 1920. This includes music faculty, students (though not student events and ensembles), and visiting musicians. The collection is especially strong in its representations of performers and composers of contemporary music from 1960-2000. Many of these musicians came to Buffalo as visiting faculty or as Creative Associates at the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts (1964-1980). The list of composers in the collection is impressive. It includes: Earle Brown, Harrison Birtwistle, Pauline Oliveros, Colin Bright, Julius Eastman, John Cage, Morton Feldman, Lejaren Hiller, Cornelius Cardew, Carlos Chavez, Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, Elliott Carter, David Del Tredici, Harold Shapero, Mauricio Kagel, Ralph Shapey, Ingolf Dahl, Henri Pousseur, Philip Glass, George Crumb, Fredric Myrow, Leon Kirchner, George Rochberg, Ned Rorem, Allen Sapp, Toru Takemitsu, Morton Subotnick, Leo Smit, and Augusta Read Thomas.

The Music Department at the University at Buffalo has also hosted more than 24 string quartets that have performed the Slee Beethoven String Quartet Cycle series dating back to 1955. The collection includes photographs of the Budapest, Cassatt, Cleveland, Colorado, Concord, Emerson, Guarnieri, Juilliard, Orford, Prague, and Vermeer string quartets.

Please see the finding aid for a complete description of the collection.