Distinguished Professor Emeritus Dr. Donald Portnoy, an internationally renowned violinist and conductor, has donated his personal collection of scores and papers to the Music Library at the University of South Carolina.

 In his 31 years as a faculty member in the School of Music, Portnoy served as a professor of Violin, director of orchestral studies and conductor of the USC Symphony and Chamber Orchestra. He is the founder and director of the renowned Conductor’s Institute, whose participants come from all parts of the United States and abroad to attend annual summer sessions in Columbia and Charleston. He holds the Ira McKissick Koger Endowed Chair for the Fine Arts and is an artistic advisor to the Koger Center.

The Donald Portnoy collection features annotated scores in Portnoy’s own hand, ranging from Baroque to Contemporary music, as well as photographs and other ephemera. The collection is valuable not only because it reflects Portnoy’s long and illustrious career but also because of the pedagogical opportunities it presents by giving students and aspiring or seasoned conductors an intimate glimpse into the mind of an industry powerhouse.

“We are honored to be stewards of Dr. Portnoy’s unique collection of materials.  Our students and faculty, along with other scholars of music performance and conducting, will profit from having ready access to the work of such a prominent and accomplished conductor,” notes David Banush, Dean of University Libraries. 

Portnoy is a Julliard-trained violinist, earning his undergraduate degree from the institution at the beginning of his career. He went on to serve in the Marines for four years as part of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band Orchestra, playing in the White House under President Eisenhower for guests like Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth II and others. During his time in Washington, D.C., he earned his master’s from The Catholic University of America and went on to earn his D.MA from the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins.

He has received international recognition as guest conductor with the major orchestras of Pittsburgh and Baltimore as well as other orchestras around the United States and in Argentina, Brazil, China, Poland and throughout Europe. Aside from earning international acclaim, Dr. Portnoy has made a name for himself regionally by starting many orchestras around the Southeast, including the Aiken Symphony Orchestra, the Columbia Chamber Orchestra, and the United States Chamber Orchestra. He received Columbia University’s 2004 Ditson Conductor’s Award, which recognizes conductors who have a distinguished record of performing and championing contemporary American music. He has also received honors from both West Virginia and South Carolina, Distinguished West Virginian and the Order of the Palmetto.

His tenure at USC began in 1986 when he moved from West Virginia to Columbia to teach at the School of Music, then housed in McMaster College. While at USC he started the Conductor’s Institute, which brought conductors from all over the world to hear lectures, network, and receive notes and critiques from acclaimed and established peers.

Although he is now retired, Portnoy’s archival collection will ensure his legacy will continue not only to be preserved, but to grow with generations of conductors and musicians.

“Students will get to see the thought process behind a conducting powerhouse,” says Ana Dubnjakovic, Head of the Music Library. “Students and researchers will have access to a living, breathing legacy through the preservation of the collection.”

Portnoy, who found great meaning and joy in educating and raising up conductors and musicians, wanted his collection to aide other conductors through his own markings and annotations. “The scores will at least give some conductors an idea of what I thought the music should be,” says Portnoy. “Someone might see that Beethoven marked one thing, but my mark is different because, to me, the music feels different.” Portnoy hopes conductors and musicians alike will be able to use to gleam their own meaning from his notes and annotations so that they can carry these new ideas forward into their own work.