Tesfaye Lemma Collection

The Tesfaye Lemma Collection is a collection of archival sound recordings of radio studio sessions and of live performances by Orchestra Ethiopia and various musicians encountered by Tesfaye. The recodings were done during field trips, music dramas composed by Tesfaye Lemma, poetry readings, interviews recorded in Ethiopia between 1967 and 1975; and a few recordings of North America. Other materials included in the collection are music and recordings made by ethnomusicologist Jean Jenkins and of singer Marian Anderson. There are also notes and partial index of the collection prepared by Charles Sutton.

There are sixty-three tape recordings of Ethiopian music by Orchestra Ethiopia and recordings of other Ethiopian musicians. In addition, there are miscellaneous materials on the Peace Corps, Ethiopian poetry readings, and recordings of Jean Jenkins which were recorded by Tesfaye. The collection includes logs and other manuscript materials accompanying the tapes.

Tesfaye is a former director of Orchestra Ethiopia (1967-1975) the national Ethiopian folklore orchestra housed at the former Haile Selassie University (now Addis Ababa University) from the mid-1960s until its dissolution around 1975. She is a composer and leader of traditional music performance in Ethiopia.

Access to recordings may be restricted. Before requesting materials, viewers should contact Folklife Reading Room.