The Dr. John Bitter collection contains materials documenting Bitter's career as a conductor and composer. The collection includes sheet music for several compositions by Bitter, as well as publications about the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and a 1953 photograph of the University of Miami Orchestra at the Miami Beach Auditorium. Also included are numerous programs from the 1940s-1960s, including ones from the UM Symphony Orchestra, the Greater Miami Philharmonic, and the Berlin Philharmonic.

The David Ewen Collection consists of materials which pertain to several aspects of music, ranging from composers to opera houses and festivals, as well as his personal life and work. The papers follow the original order established by David Ewen.

The bulk of the collection contains information and some correspondence pertaining to American and foreign composers and serious and popular performers such as George Gershwin, Charles Ives, Igor Stravinsky, Gustav Mahler, Maria Callas, Bing Crosby, and other notable 20th century composers and performers.