The Orchestral Dance Music Collection comprises donations to the Warren D. Allen Music Library from various donors. A significant portion came from former flute professor Charles Delaney and includes materials formerly belonging to bandleader George Parry. It features jazz, ragtime, big band, and other styles of dance tunes that rose to prominence over the course of the decades from the 1890s to the late 1950s. Pieces in the collection are principally parts, although some also have scores, for a variety of orchestras and ensembles.
