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The
Joseph McGrath Sacred Choral Music Collection is composed
of over 340 religious sheet music titles available
at the Central Library in downtown Syracuse. The collection
was organized in the mid-1970s as a cooperative effort
between the Onondaga County Public Library and the
Syracuse Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
The choral music is available for free loan to any holder of an Onondaga County Public Library card. Titles may be requested and sent to any OCPL library for pickup. Multiple copies of each piece are kept in expandable portfolio files and are checked out as a single item. An index by composer and an index by title are available online as Adobe PDF files. Print indexes are available at the Central Library and at city branch libraries. For more information, contact the Central Library at (315) 435-1900 or reference@onlib.org.
In addition to the McGrath Collection, other choral music is available through the Marcellus Free Library from the Marcellus Chorale Music Collection. This music must be picked up and returned at the Marcellus Free Library.
Dr. Joseph J. McGrath was born in Oswego, New York on July 4, 1889. He died in Syracuse, New York on January 23, 1968.
Dr. McGrath was a graduate of Syracuse University, a student of Composition under Dr. William Berwald, studied organ with August Wiegand, Gaston Dethier and Charles Courboin, and church music under Msgr. L.P. Manzetti.
A Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, he was Organist and Choir Master of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Syracuse, N.Y. for forty years. He was teacher of harmony and composition at Syracuse University and a lecturer at the Catholic University Summer School.
In 1956 Dr. McGrath was the recipient of an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from Le Moyne College. In 1958 he was cited by the National Catholic Music Educators Association for outstanding contributions to music and music education, and his Mass of the Blessed Sacrament was awarded the Prize for that year. The National Association of Music Clubs awarded prizes to his Sonata Romantica and an Organ Sonata.
His published compositions include more than 100 choral compositions for Catholic Church Services, organ music, a cantata, string quartets and several piano compositions.
On April 17, 1966, he received a special Papal award, the first time such an honor was given in the Syracuse Diocese.