The Archie K. Davis Award has been presented every year since 1999, to honor the memory of a man long dedicated to the history of the Moravian communities here and the state of North Carolina. The award recognizes the contributions to history – the growth of knowledge and the sharing of it in ways that spark interest locally, regionally, nationally, and even globally. The award has been given to two people before, to Travis and Evva Hanes just last year – but this year the award goes to two very deserving individuals who are NOT married to each other, but whose collaborative work has broadened the knowledge and understanding of the history and culture of Wachovia in ways we are yet to grasp.
These two extremely knowledgeable persons have been working together full-time towards a mission of breathtaking breadth and importance for nearly 8 years. That 8 years, however, represents only the tip of the iceberg when viewed in light of the extensive involvement both have had in this area of work, and in this area especially as it relates to Moravian history and culture. Not only have t
hey brought countless previously-unknown facts to light in their painstaking, never-say-can’t-find-it, research; working with scholars and with those who are in my mind technological wizards, around the world, they have pushed the edges of technological capabilities as well as musical and historical knowledge.
Some years ago I read an excellent book on organizational management and leadership. In Good to Great, author Jim Collins counsels organizations regarding whether to take on a new project. There’s really only one question: Is this project key to the mission of the organization? If not, then limit the resources you expend; save the best of all your resources for things that are key to the organization. If, on the other hand, the proposed undertaking is a key factor in the fulfillment of the organization’s mission, then, he says, have at it! Throw everything you have at it, and become the best in the world.
Sounds difficult? Sounds like too much? Not for these two persons. Beginning way back in the early 1990s, when even email was new on the horizon, and the “World Wide Web” sounded like science fiction, these two, as members of the Board of Trustees, were urging the Moravian Music Foundation to get out in front of these technological communication frontiers. For each of them, working cooperatively as Board members, their passion for the Moravian musical heritage and their passion for their own line of work merged into something I can only call a force of nature. They took hold of the idea, came up with plans and processes, and captured the vision for the board and staff that has brought the Foundation to where it is today – at the forefront of music librarianship and archival musical bibliography.
It’s going to be difficult to say more without revealing names, and some of you already have a pretty good idea who I’m talking about. But let me stretch this out a bit longer.
One of these persons has been involved Moravian music research and bibliography at least since the selection of a master’s thesis topic in the 1970s – a thesis which remains a key resource for those studying musical repertoire and performances in American Moravian communities. Over more than twenty years, she worked with the Foundation’s staff and board of trustees to clarify policies and procedures in the Foundation’s research library and archival holdings, and to prepare for the great work she has been directing ever since her – are you ready for this? – retirement eight years ago.
The other person has also been in the trenches of Moravian music bibliography, having done an internship with the Foundation for his library science degree, and since then – while working full-time elsewhere out of state – undertaking some very impressive and useful research and bibliographical projects, not to mention composing and editing music himself. He too has been deep in the details of this work at the Foundation since his – here we go again! – retirement eight years ago.
There’s nothing like bringing in extremely qualified, extremely experienced, and overwhelmingly passionate individuals when you want to tackle something that’s almost unimaginable in scope and indescribable in results.
Both of these persons, in addition to the detailed detective work they do every day, have made presentations at regional, national, and international musical and library-science conferences – truly “spreading the word” about Moravian history, music, and culture far beyond the borders of Wachovia or even of North America. Their international contacts have enticed numerous online visitors and a number of in-person visits from musicians and scholars literally around the globe.
It would give me a great deal of pleasure, personally, to continue bragging about this project of the Moravian Music Foundation, which is named “GemeinKat” – the catalog of the Gemein, or community. The most recent – but far from the last – of the Foundation’s big, hairy, audacious goals to near completion, this project has put Moravian music and history in the forefront of musicological and historical research, not to mention onto concert stages and digital audio recordings.
However, to bring this presentation to a conclusion, I would be very remiss not to pay tribute to the unshakeable integrity, faithfulness, and all-around human goodness of the character of each of them. I’ve known them both personally and professionally for many years now, and I am so proud to call them dear friends, and to present the Archie Davis Award to my sister, and to my brother, David Blum.
Written and presented by The Rev. Nola Reed Knouse, Ph.D., October 18, 2022
