What is the Temianka Archival Scholars Program?

The Temianka Archival Scholars Program* is an academic, student-employment opportunity designed to introduce students to conducting research with manuscripts and archival material during their enrollment at Chapman University. Students will work within the Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives, and be supervised by the Coordinator of Special Collections and Archives. The program is generously funded by Dr. Daniel Temianka, in honor of his father, Henri Temianka.

Students selected for the program will:

  • Work with rare books, manuscripts, and/or archival collections
  • Analyze items of cultural significance and improve their research skills
  • Assist in day-to-day tasks of the department
  • Partner with mentors in the Leatherby Libraries who will guide them on their research plans
  • Conduct research on the unpublished music manuscript of violinist Henri Temianka
  • Write blog series summarizing the research and work conducted in Special Collections
  • Create end-products that focus on their research, such as an academic talk, a poster presentation, or an online exhibition
  • Receive hourly wages of $22.32/hour for a maximum of 8 hours of work per week

Application Deadline: September 3rd, 2021

Poster chronicling the life, career, and legacy of Henri Temianka

How to Apply

The Temianka Archival Scholars program is competitive; we will only select one student per academic year. Applications are restricted to Chapman University students who will be enrolled in the 2021-2022 academic year. Please apply at this job portal, submit your resume, and briefly answer the posted supplemental questions: https://chapman.peopleadmin.com/postings/24965.

Preference will be given to graduate students and those with a scholarly interest in music.

Please contact Annie Tang (awtang@chapman.edu), the program manager, for questions about the research topics or for guidance with the application process.

Research Topic

Henri Temianka (1906 – 1992) was a gifted violinist, conductor, author, and music educator. In 1946, he founded the Paganini Quartet, an American virtuoso string quartet, which won acclaim for its 1947 recording of Beethoven’s String Quartets No. 7 – 9, Opus 59, “Rasumovsky.” Starting in the 1950s, he broke classical music taboos by casually lecturing about “long hair music” right from the stage during performances. Did Temianka pioneer this informal style of live performance and music appreciation from the stage, now common to musicians everywhere? The Temianka Archival Scholar will investigate this question over the course of this program.

*Special thanks is given to the Freshman Fellows program at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University for the inspiration and development of the Temianka Archival Scholars Program.