A Rich Cultural Archive in Boxes

Anyone in Southern California with an interest in music or dance probably has cherished recollections of events at Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium. That’s where, from 1974 to 1995, such stars as Arthur Rubinstein, Beverly Sills and the Dance Theatre of Harlem performed as part of highly regarded concert series sponsored by the auditorium’s owner, the Worldwide Church of God.

Now, a trove of much more tangible memories-- commercial-quality audio and videotapes of nearly every concert presented at the venue, plus extensive photo and print files--has come to light. The archive--created by Ambassador Performing Arts, the church’s concert-producing arm--fills some 900 boxes and includes tapes of such performances as the Kirov Ballet’s 1986 appearance, its first U.S. visit in 22 years, and the Juilliard String Quartet’s traversal of the complete Beethoven quartets in five performances during the 1989-90 season.

“It’s an extraordinary collection,” says Richard Koprowski, assistant archivist at the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, which would like to acquire the collection. “I can’t think of another one with that scope, covering that length of time. It is a very important record of musical culture here on the West Coast, and will become even more important with time. It is impossible to overestimate its historical value.”

For the moment, however, the Ambassador archive is of little value to anyone. It sits in storage in Pasadena, seemingly orphaned by the troubled Worldwide Church of God, which has been fractured by doctrinal battles. Officials of the church would not speak to The Times about the archive, except to confirm through a press spokeswoman that it remains in storage and that “nothing is being done with it now.”

According to B. Douglas Russell, a former member of the church, director of marketing at Ambassador Performing Arts and its acting director as the program was shut down, this was not always the case. Shortly after the last concert in May 1995, Russell says, Joseph Tkach, pastor general of the church, had agreed that the materials should be preserved and donated to Stanford. After Tkach’s death that fall, his son and successor, Joseph Tkach Jr., also had agreed in principle to the donation.

By then, the church was deeply embroiled in disputes that had arisen after its founder, Herbert W. Armstrong, died in 1986. Under Armstrong, the church’s famous broadcast ministry and its Plain Truth magazine emphasized such beliefs as strict observance of a Saturday Sabbath, mandatory donations and end-of-the-world prophecy. It built a 56-acre headquarters in Pasadena, established congregations around the world and claimed a total membership of more than 100,000.

After Armstrong’s death, the church moved closer to mainstream Christian beliefs, but 10% to 15% of its members defected, forming splinter churches. Lawsuits concerning the rights to Armstrong’s teaching, property rights and other issues sprang up. As WCG membership and revenues fell in the mid-’90s, layoffs ensued, the Pasadena headquarters was put up for sale, and the subsidy for the concert series was withdrawn, closing the doors on concert presentations.

Even before the concerts ended, Ambassador Performing Arts began researching institutions to house the archival material. Cal State L.A., UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and the Huntington Library, as well as Stanford, were approached. Interest in the collection was high everywhere, but its size and scope proved daunting.

“Ambassador was one of the primary cultural institutions in this area, and to document its history would be very important,” says Sue Hodson, curator of literary manuscripts at the Huntington Library. “We talked about the collection, but we just couldn’t take it--the size was absolutely enormous, and the fact that a large part of it was tapes, which require even greater care and handling, was certainly a factor. With much regret, we had to turn it down.”

In the end, the church decided that the Stanford Archive-- established in 1958 and home to more than 200,000 recordings, including concert tapes from the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Carmel Bach Festival--had the expertise and resources to handle the Ambassador materials. The university offered to pay to move the collection to Palo Alto, and even went so far as to begin renting additional storage space off-campus in anticipation of receiving it.

The donation was derailed, according to Russell and Koprowski, when the church’s legal staff began to draw up an agreement. The lawyers raised concerns over potential legal risks posed by the collection, primarily concerning copyright issues and the past security of the collection. What would happen, for example, if bootlegs appeared or if tapes had been copied over the years or stolen? The church decided to ask for blanket legal indemnification in return for donating the collection.

Stanford said no.

“No institution can give something like that,” Koprowski says. “Once the collection came here, Stanford would be responsible for any action regarding possible copyright violation, but we can’t indemnify a donor for actions resulting from its own handling of the materials.”

In December 1996, Stanford received official notice that the WCG was withdrawing the donation.

“I think they are worried about cash flow,” explains Russell. “They wanted to be sure that the donation wouldn’t expose them to any further legal hassles.”

“My feeling is that the case is closed,” Koprowski says, “but we’re still open should the material be offered again.”

For now, the exact physical disposition of the collection is unclear. “When I left in December,” Russell says, “the material was packed to ship--not for preservation--with all the boxes sitting on top of each other.”

The church spokeswoman, Jennifer McGraw, however, said the materials are safe. And, she continued, “if and when the [Pasadena] property is sold, the board will redecide” the fate of the collection. For now, however, the archive remains in limbo.

According to Russell, some of the materials have already deteriorated from lack of proper care over the years. Without professional archival handling, he says, there is a real risk of loss.

“Losing 21 years of such marvelous audio and video recordings, priceless photographs, and historical materials is unconscionable,” Russell says. “I hope the collection gets a second chance.”