The David A. Gordon collection is comprised mostly of original compositions in handwritten and copied manuscripts. David Gordon composed for a wide range of ensembles: this collection contains orchestral and other large ensemble works, chamber and solo instrumental music, large and small ensemble pieces with voice, and a cappella arrangements. The collection has been organized to reflect these categories. In addition to full scores, there are also sets of parts to a number of the pieces in the collection, though some sets are incomplete.

Some of the works here are dated, with most of the dated works being written in the 1970s; the overall written date range of the works in this collection is 1963-1982. There are some miscellaneous items in the collection, including a research paper Gordon wrote for a university course, a Shakespeare adaptation made by Gordon, an invoice from a music copyist, handwritten musical examples, and two concert programs: one from the University of Hawaii, and one from UMKC. The UMKC program indicates that it was a premiere performance of one of Gordon’s works, played by the UMKC Civic Orchestra.

Most of the works and materials in this collection are primary resources from a little-known American composer writing in the 60s-80s. As such, any scholar looking to dig beyond the traditional musical canon will find a wealth of different music here. It is music that is neither serialist nor minimalist, further displacing itself from the typical canonic narrative of post-World War II American music, which may pique the interest of scholars researching lesser-known music from the United States in the second half of the twentieth century. For local researchers, there is a Kansas City connection as well, as Gordon was at one point a faculty member at UMKC.