Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I want to thank Matanya Ophee himself for all of the years of hard work in building the collection, as well as his wife, Dr. Margarita Ophee-Mazo, for living with the collection for so many years and having the foresight to keep it together. I would especially like to thank Margarita and her daughter Marina Goldberg for their permission to use photos of Matanya on the website.
Special thanks are due to John and Jude Lubrano of J & J Lubrano Music Antiquarians in Syosset, New York: the descriptions of the collections were accurate and useful, the packaging of the materials meticulous, and the long process of getting the collection to Boone flawless.
Several members of the Appalachian State University Libraries were instrumental in acquiring the collection: Interim Dean Paul Orkiszewski, Alex McAllister, Allan Duncan, Jason Wolfe, Jennifer Brosek, John Abbott and Derena Bradley. In the Hayes School of Music, Dean James Douthit contributed funds to the original acquisition and facilitated the use of graduate student assistants to help in digitization.
Special thanks are due to Dean Sue Polanka for her support in a number of areas including staffing, space, and outreach. For the processing and housing of the collection, thanks to Kim Sims and members of the Special Collections Research Center. Dea Rice of the Digital Scholarship and Initiatives team designed the web site and helped on all matters involving the interface. Matt Ransom digitized the primary sources, with the help of Hayes School of Music Graduate Assistants. Paul Grant furnished the photos of my guitar and me used as banners and other design elements.
During the initial processing, Dr. Stanley Yates, Coordinator of Guitar Studies at Austin Peay State University, provided important context for several items in the collection, both in person and via email, learned directly from his long friendship with Matanya. Finally, thanks are due to Dr. Douglas James, Professor of Classical Guitar at Appalachian State University (retired). Doug's enthusiasm for the project and interest in the collection never wavered. We hope he will continue to be a frequent visitor to the collection, along with his successor, Dr. Adam Kossler, and a new generation of guitar students. I think Matanya would have most wanted his collection in the hands of these young guitarists--challenging accepted norms, arguing over interpretations, discovering long-forgotten gems and bringing them back to life--all the while pressing the guitar forward into a new millenium.
To quote Matanya's well-known credo: "Don't be lazy!"
Dr. Gary R. Boye, Boone, NC
