Past Conferences
ARSC's annual meetings are one of the most important services the organization provides. The conferences are held in a different location each year, and though we try to spread the conference sites across the country as much as possible, the actual location is ultimately determined by the individuals, institutions or chapters offering to host a conference.
Conferences are usually held between April and June, though fall meetings are occasionally planned. The conference begins on a Wednesday evening with registration and an informal reception. Presentations begin Thursday morning and extend though Saturday afternoon. During this time, field trips, recitals, dinners, committee meetings, demonstrations, workshops, record swaps and tours may occur. The conference closes with a business meeting late Saturday afternoon followed by the ARSC Awards Banquet on Saturday night.
Presentations vary widely: recorded sound history, recording artists, archival concerns, copyright issues, performance practices, and phonograph and record collecting are all likely topic areas. Additionally, panel discussions are often assembled to address issues of interest to collectors and/or archives. Past roundtables have covered topics such as audio restoration, cylinder care and preservation, cleaning methods, and fair use issues.
Hosting a conference is a great responsibility, and a good deal of work. Because of this, most meetings are sponsored by institutional members; however, this is certainly not a requirement. Any dedicated group of ARSC members may host a conference, and interested individuals are invited to contact the Executive Director for more information.
- 2023 Pittsburgh, PA
- 2022 Virtual Conference
- 2021 Virtual Conference
- 2020 Virtual Conference
- 2019 Portland, OR
- 2018 Baltimore, MD
- 2017 San Antonio, TX
- 2016 Bloomington, IN (University of Indiana)
- 2015 Pittsburgh, PA (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh)
- 2014 Chapel Hill, NC (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill)
- 2013 Kansas City, MO (University of Missouri)
- 2012 Rochester, NY (Eastman School of Music)
- 2011 Los Angeles, CA (UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive)
- 2010 New Orleans, LA (Tulane University)
- 2009 Washington, DC (Library of Congress)
- 2008 Palo Alto, CA (Stanford University)
- 2007 Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Ward Irish Music Archives)
- 2006 Seattle, Washington (University of Washington School of Music)
- 2005 Austin, Texas (University of Texas at Austin)
- 2004 Cleveland, Ohio (Joint conference with Society of American Music)
- 2003 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (University of Pennsylvania via University of Pennsylvania)
- 2002 Santa Barbara, California (University of California, Santa Barbara)
- 2001 London, UK (The British Library - joint conference with IASA)
- 2000 Chapel Hill, NC (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
- 1999 Madison, WI (University of Wisconsin - Madison)
- 1998 Syracuse, NY (Syracuse University)
- 1997 Nashville, TN (Country Music Foundation)
- 1996 Kansas City, MO (University of Missouri - Kansas City)
- 1995 Washington, DC (Library of Congress - joint conference with IASA & FIAT)
- 1994 New York, NY (NYPL Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound)
- 1993 Chicago, IL (Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Chicago Public Library - joint conference with MAC)
- 1992 Rochester, NY (Eastman School of Music)
- 1991 Atlanta, GA (Georgia State University)
- 1990 Ottawa, ON (Canadian Museum of Civilization - joint conference with IASA & CAML)
- 1989 Kansas City, MO (University of Missouri - Kansas City)
- 1988 Toronto, ON (University of Toronto - joint conference with CAML)
- 1987 Washington, DC (George Washington University / NMAH - joint conference with IASA)
- 1986 New York, NY (NYPL Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound)
- 1985 San Francisco, CA (San Francisco State University & Stanford University)
- 1984 Bowling Green, OH (Bowling Green State University)
- 1983 Nashville, TN (Country Music Foundation)
- 1982 Syracuse, NY (Syracuse University)
- 1981 Chapel Hill, NC (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
- 1980 Ottawa, ON (National Library and Public Archives of Canada)
- 1979 Chicago, IL [Bismarck Hotel]
- 1978 Washington, DC (Library of Congress - joint conference with IAML & IASA)
- 1977 West Orange, NJ (Edison National Historic Site)
- 1976 Palo Alto, CA (Stanford University)
- 1975 Montreal, PQ (McGill University - joint conference with IAML, IASA & MLA)
- 1974 Philadelphia, PA [Sheraton Hotel]
- 1973 Bloomington, IN (Indiana University at Bloomington - joint conference with MLA)
- 1972 Ypsilanti, MI (Eastern Michigan University)
- 1971 New York, NY (NYPL Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound)
- 1970 Nashville, TN (Vanderbilt University)
- 1969 New York, NY (NYPL Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound)
- 1968 Los Angeles, CA (University of California at Los Angeles)
- 1967 Bloomington, IN (Indiana University at Bloomington - "1st Annual" ARSC conference)
- 1966 Washington, DC (Library of Congress - constitutional meeting)
- 1966 Syracuse, NY (Syracuse University - founding meeting)
- 1965 Dearborn, MI (Henry Ford Museum / MLA - exploratory meeting)
