Mills acquires Douglas Hill Collection

We’re excited to announce the latest addition to our Special Collections: Douglas Hill, Emeritus Professor of Music – Horn, has donated his archive of materials relating to his career of learning, teaching, coaching, performing, composing, writing, recording, administering, and adjudicating spanning the years 1964-2022. The Douglas Hill Collection will be part of our Wisconsin Music Archives, complement our holdings of Hill’s published works, and provide research opportunities for students and the general public.

Hill taught at University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1974 until he retired in 2011. He performed and recorded with the Wingra Woodwind Quintet and the Wisconsin Brass Quintet. Hill’s books are considered classics of horn pedagogy. His extensive publications include Collected Thoughts on Teaching and Learning, Creativity, and Horn Performance, Extended Techniques for the Horn: A Practical Handbook for Composers and Performers, and French Horn Basics: Questions Answered. Hill has been active in the International Horn Society, serving on the IHS Advisory Council from 1976-82 and 1994-97, and as IHS President for three years beginning in 1978. He was elected an IHS Honorary Member in 2008 at the 40th International Horn Symposium.

Hill’s donated materials include his compositions—horn solos, duets, trios, quartets; horn ensembles, horn and piano, horn with voice and piano; chamber with brass; chamber music; choral, vocal, and orchestral—and parts with performance markings from premieres and recordings. His pedagogical materials include class notes, handouts, student lists, clinic presentations, and administrative papers. The collection also includes recordings he made, and recordings others made of his compositions. We look forward to preserving all of the items and providing access to the Douglas Hill Collection!