Biographical/historical information

Otto Henry was born in Reno, Nevada in 1933 and was raised in Swannanoa, North Carolina. He joined the United States Army in 1954 and played French Horn in the Army band while stationed in Governor's Island, New York City and Panama. After leaving the service, he earned BM and AM degrees in composition from Boston University. He then enrolled at Tulane University, established the Newcomb College Electronic Music Studio, and earned a Ph.D in 1970, writing one of the first dissertations on electronic music. He chaired the Department of Music at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania from 1961 to 1965. He joined the School of Music at East Carolina University in 1968 and started programs in electronic music composition and ethnomusicology and established the school's Recording and Electronic Music Studio, which contained the revolutionary MOOG synthesizer. Dr. Henry has composed numerous choral and electronic pieces and won the Hilda Honigan Composer's Cup in 1977 for his piece "Sanctus." After retiring from East Carolina University in 1998, he played French Horn with and composed music for the Pitt Community College Symphony Orchestra, the Tar River Band, and The Beaufort County Community Symphony.

Scope and arrangement

This collection contains the personal and administrative records of Dr. Otto Henry, a former East Carolina University music professor. Many of the materials pertain to his time at East Carolina although there are also papers from his time as a student at Tulane University and teaching at Washington and Jefferson University.

The first series in this collection contains sound recordings, video recordings, and scores of Dr. Henry's musical compositions.

The second series contains his notes for the courses he taught at East Carolina University as well as the courses he took at Tulane University.

The third series contains printed publications he collected including reference works, serial publications, concert programs, electronic equipment promotions, and his notes on performing other composers' works.

The fourth series contains his correspondence, including some with Dr. Robert Moog.

The fifth series contains a scrapbook documenting his musical career.

The sixth series contains his scholarly research materials for the writing of his book "Ringing Bells in Malta."

The seventh series contains biographical materials, such as resumes, and a typescript of his memoir about serving in the US military in Panama.

The eight series contains digitized copies of photographs physically retained by Dr. Henry.

Administrative information

Copyright notice

This material is made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to taking precautions against infringement of copyright and respecting the publication rights of reproduced materials. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards. Any materials used should be fully credited with their source according to the example given in the Preferred Citation note. Requests for assistance with citations and images of publication quality should be directed to [email protected] This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state law. The user assumes full responsibility for using such information and is advised that the disclosure of such information about identifiable living individuals without their consent may have legal ramifications.

Related material

This collection is a part of Faculty Records.

Separated Material

A published copy of Dr. Henry's book "Ringing Bells in Malta" has been removed from the collection and cataloged separately.

Key terms

Personal Names

Corporate Names

Topical

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