Born in Dodge City in 1938, Don L. Roberts spent most of his youth in Kansas. He studied bassoon performance at the Curtis Institute before attending Friends University to earn his B.A. Don was incredibly influential in the field of ethnomusicology and music bibliography, holding positions in many professional associations, teaching at Northwestern University and Dominican University, and curating an incredible collection of contemporary music at the Northwestern Music Library.
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Music Theory
Friends University, Kansas
Master of Arts in Library Science
University of Michigan
Masters in Ethnomusicology
University of Michigan
Professional Career
Fine Arts Librarian, 1963-68
Northwestern University Library Staff, 1970
University of New Mexico
Bassoonist, 1963-68; President and Personnel Manager, 1965-68
Albuquerque Symphony Orchestra
Head of the Music Library, 1969-2002
Northwestern University
Professor of Music Librarianship, 1971-2002
Dominican University
School of Music Lecturer, 1972-2002
Northwestern University
Professional Associations
Society of American Music
Co-editor, 1980-85: Record Reviews & American Music
Music Library Association (MLA)
President, 1990-94
Awarded Citation for “distinguished service to music librarianship”, 1996
Acted as Board Member, Newsletter Editor, Convention Manager, and served on Audit, Development, Finance, Investment, Membership, Nominating, Rental Music, and RILM-U.S. Committees.
International Association of Music Libraries (IAML)
President, Commission for Education and Training, 1974-84
Treasurer, 1984-92
President, 1992-95
Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM)
Treasurer, 1978-80
Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC)
President, 1971-74
Recorded Anthology of American Music
Board, 1975-2018
Chairman, New World Records Editorial Committee, 1975-78