Music of the United States of America (publications)

MUSA (Music of the United States of America) is a 41-volume series of critical editions of American music, representing the full range of genres and idioms that have contributed to American musical culture.[1] It was established by the American Musicological Society in 1988[2] and is hosted by the University of Michigan at its American Music Institute. The criteria used in developing MUSA volumes are:

  • That the series as a whole reflect breadth and balance among eras, genres, composers and performance media
  • That it avoid music already available through other channels, duplicating only where new editions of available music seem essential
  • That works in the series be representative, chosen to reflect particular excellence or to represent notable achievements in this country's highly varied music history[3]

MUSA receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and is published by A-R Editions of Madison, Wisconsin.[4] The founding editor-in-chief of MUSA is Richard Crawford, and the current editors-in-chief are Mark Clague (University of Michigan) and Gayle Magee (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign).

  1. ^ Crawford, Rich (Spring 2005). "MUSA's Early Years: The Life and Times of a National Editing Project", American Music 23(1).
  2. ^ Beckwith, John (Spring 1996). "Review Essay: Music of the United States of America", American Music 14(1).
  3. ^ Kearns, William. (1998-99). "MUSA: An American Monument", The American Music Research Center Journal 8/9.
  4. ^ Burkholder, J. Peter (Spring 1995). "MUSA's Debut", L.S.A.M. Newsletter 24(2).