Austrian-born American music theorist Felix Salzer (1901-1986) furthered the system of musical analysis developed by Heinrich Schenker and was a faculty member and executive director of the Mannes College of Music. The collection contains biographical information, Salzer's honorary doctorate from Mannes and materials and photographs relating to the degree conferral ceremony, as well as vacation photographs of Salzer and his wife, Hedwig Lindtberg.

Menachem Zur (born 1942) is an Israeli composer who studied at Mannes College of Music (now, Mannes School of Music), and Columbia University. His compositions are influenced by modernism, post-tonal music, and set theory, as well as traditional Jewish music. The collection includes various chamber music scores by Zur, mostly in photocopy form, as well as a recording of several of his compositions.