The Hellmuth Wolff Organ Collection consists primarily of organ plans, pamphlets, photographs, books and periodicals, and personal correspondence. The majority of these documents are associated with or represent one of the fifty organs in Wolff’s opus. In addition to depicting Wolff’s instruments, the collection of organ plans also includes Wolff’s drawings for proposed but not-constructed organs, plans by other organ builders, and plans drawn by Wolff that are based on historical models and treatises by writers such as Dom Bédos. Of the photographs, most are associated with specific Wolff organ projects and represent a span date of the late 1960s to the early 2000s. Also in the photograph collection are images of historical organs in Europe, which Wolff presumably used in modelling and designing several of his instruments, as well as images associated with other organ projects by builders such as Casavant Frères, Karl Wilhelm, and Rieger, all of whom Wolff worked with before establishing his own workshop in Laval. The collection of pamphlets includes programs, program notes, and concert series information for several of the Recitals and concerts performed on Wolff’s instruments. Of the periodicals and books, titles include The American Organist, Choir & Organ, and Orgelforum. Also in the collection are several three-dimensional models, or maquettes, of Wolff organs.

The fonds includes a letter from Lex [i.e. Alexander Silbiger] to [Professor] Donald [Mackay] of the McGill Faculty of Music [now, Schulich School of Music], and a typed curriculum vitae [undated, but probably from 1974] detailing personal data, degrees and diplomas, performing experience, recordings, teaching experience, and compositional output. Also included is a printed concert program for a performance given by the Department of Music, Brandeis University in Slosberg Recital Hall on Sunday, April 27, 1975. In addition, the fonds comprises copies of scores of Gian Lyman’s compositions, including [Sonata for Organ?], Three Bagatelles for Piano (first performance, Montreal, 1959), Pieces for Oboe and Viola (first performance, Montreal, 1959), String quartet (first performance, Montreal, 1960), Essay for three Viols (first performance, Hartford, 1966), Trio for Violin, Viola, and Piano, Quaternions (flute, violin, viola da gamba, and harpsichord), and miscellaneous pieces for choir and organ.

The Donald Mackey Collection consists of the Donald Mackey and Renaissance Singers of Montreal complete portfolio of CBC broadcast programmes and scripts. In addition, the fond contains documentary artifacts including correspondence, concert programmes, photographs, audio recordings and special projects that chronicle Mackey’s career as conductor of the Renaissance Singers of Montreal and his life in Montreal. This includes information about his professorship at the faculty of music of McGill University, his active involvement in Montreal’s vibrant church music scene as organist and conductor, his appointment as University Organist Emeritus, etc.

The Charles Reiner Collection consists of correspondence, newspaper reviews and clippings, performance programmes, personal documents including legal material, photographs, writings, published and unpublished music by Reiner and other composers, audio and visual recordings of Reiner and other performers, books, and awards. Of particular interest is correspondence from Rudolf Serkin, Alfred Cortot, and Kurt Waldheim; legal documents from both before and after Reiner’s immigration to Canada; and the extensive collection of programmes and newspaper clippings that document Reiner’s extensive performance career.

The Bernard Gagnon Fonds consists of audio recordings, including interviews, manuscripts, correspondence, and event documentation of Bernard Gagnon, a Montreal-based electroacoustic composer who recorded his first electroacoustic pieces at McGill’s Schulich School of Music’s Electronic Music Studio (EMS) in the 1980s. The Bernard Gagnon Fonds contains the work of Bernard Gagnon a Montreal-based electoacoustic composer and performer who was active in the avant garde scene in the city during the 1970s and 1980s. He composed his first electroacoustic pieces at McGill’s Schulich School of Music’s Electronic Music Studio (EMS) and the collection includes a 2012 Tenzier recording of these works. The Bernard Gagnon Fonds is divided into 5 series and contains approximately 100 items. The majority of the collection consists of audio recordings, including interviews, manuscripts, correspondence, concert posters and programs.