Title: Paolo Conte Papers, 1890-1994

ID: OGLMC1290

Primary Creator: Conte, Paolo (1890-1966)

Extent: 2.5 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 07/15/1994. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Music, University of North Dakota - Music, University of North Dakota - Wesley College

Languages: English

1890-1966; Wesley College faculty member and music composer

The collection includes many compositions of Paolo Conte and other music related items. Also included is biographical 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 labeled 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.

Dr. Paolo Conte was born February 29, 1890, in Palermo, Italy, to Gaetano and Clorinda Conte. His musical talents were demonstrated at age four 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 Grand Forks to teach piano and composition at Wesley College. Here, Conte met his bride. Mary Esther Johnson, who was his first student to enroll for private instruction. They were married August 10, 1915, in Dunseith, ND. Their only child, William R. Conte, was born May 26, 1921. In the fall of 1923, Dr. Conte became 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 minister of music at 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. Paolo Conte died September 11, 1966, in Colorado Springs at age seventy-six. His compositions number in the hundreds and have been used in teaching, radio, and movies.

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Accruals: Additional donations were made by Mary Margaret Frank, Grand Forks, North Dakota, on April 9, 1996 (96-2067), and by William Conte on June 29, 1998 (98- 2201).

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Source: William R. Conte, Olympia, Washington

Acquisition Method: Donation; 94-1962

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Paolo Conte Papers. OGLMC 1290, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid added to Archon in October 2014.