Abbie Norton Jamison
A white woman with hair parted center and dressed to nape, wearing a dark dress with a white insert in front
Abbie Norton Jamison, from a 1915 publication
BornMay 18, 1869
Cooper, Michigan
DiedAugust 8, 1955
Los Angeles, California
Occupation(s)Composer, clubwoman

Abbie Norton Jamison (May 18, 1869 – August 8, 1955) was an American pianist, composer and clubwoman, based in Los Angeles. She was first vice-president of the National Federation of Music Clubs in 1915, president of the California Music Teachers Association, and president of the California Federation of Music Clubs.

Early life and education

Abbie (or Abby) Bennett Norton was born in Cooper, Michigan.[1] She trained as a pianist, singer, and composer in the United States. Her composition teachers included Frederick Stevenson and Rudolf Friml.[2]

Career

Music

Jamison taught piano, voice, music theory, and musicianship in Los Angeles,[3][4] and wrote music for songs,[5][6] with titles including "The Rose and the Moth," "Little Pigeon Lullaby",[7] "Mammy's Lullaby" (1904, words by Maria Howard Weeden),[8] "The First Blue Bird", "The Rose and the Moth", "Awakening",[9] "My Prayer" (set to a poem by Rabindranath Tagore), "When Love is Done",[10] "Thy Little One",[11] "Fate", "Spirit of the Desert", "Desert Love Song",[12] "Our Flag",[13] "Show Me the Way",[14] and "California is Calling to You".[15] She was involved with the Federal Music Project, a New Deal program, in Los Angeles.[16] She hosted informal musical events with fellow composer and clubwoman Bessie Bartlett Frankel,[17] and directed several women's choruses,[18] including the La Gitana Chorus in the 1930s and 1940s.[19][20][21]

Clubwork

Jamison was elected first vice-president of the National Federation of Music Clubs in 1915,[22] and was president of the California Music Teachers Association from 1918[23] to 1920.[24][25] She helped found the California Federation of Music Clubs (CFMC) in 1919,[26] and was elected president of the CFMC in 1926.[27][28] In the 1930s she was president of the Southwestern District of the NFMC,[29] covering Arizona, Nevada, and California.[30][31] She was a founding member of the Hollywood Bowl Association,[32][33] founder and president of the Women's Lyric Club,[15] and served in various leadership roles in the Ebell Club in Los Angeles.[34][35]

Personal life

Abbie Norton married judge William H. Jamison in 1892.[9][36] They divorced in the 1910s. She died in 1955, at the age of 86, at a sanitarium in Los Angeles.[32][37][38]

References

  1. ↑ Hunt, Rockwell Dennis (1926). California and Californians. Lewis publishing Company. pp. 501–502.
  2. ↑ "Give Mrs. Jamison's Music". Musical America. 26: 48. May 5, 1917.
  3. ↑ "Noted Teacher Opens Studios". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1930-10-18. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Abbie Norton Jamison". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1925-01-24. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Abbie Norton Jamison's Songs Enjoyed at Marione Studios". Musical Courier. 74: 40. May 10, 1917.
  6. ↑ "Opera Singer Will be on Program Saturday". Press-Courier. 1925-10-20. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "To Give Concert". Los Angeles Herald. June 3, 1906. p. 2. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  8. ↑ "Mammy's lullaby". HathiTrust Digital Library. 1904. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  9. 1 2 "Mrs. Abbie N. Jamison Succesful [sic] Composer". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1910-01-04. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Ebell Club, Los Angeles". Music News. 8: 64f. October 27, 1916.
  11. ↑ Steele, Mrs. William D. (March 1917). "Course of Study of the National Federation of Musical Clubs". The Musical Monitor. 6: 364.
  12. ↑ "Ebell Meeting Saturday". Santa Ana Register. 1916-01-27. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1918. p. 1045.
  14. ↑ "Women Musicians of Hollywood to Give Recital at Church". Burbank Daily Evening Review. 1932-05-21. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 "Lyric Club, Hailed as Greatest Woman's Chorus, Plans Big Party". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1925-04-27. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Needy Aided". The Los Angeles Times. 1939-07-02. p. 47. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Musical Evening at Hollywood Enjoyed by Musicians, Friends". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1919-12-13. p. 35. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Abbie N. Jamison to Lead New Choruses". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1929-11-02. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "La Gitania Club Now Rehearsing". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1930-10-04. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Newcomers Circle to Give Silver Tea". San Pedro News Pilot. November 12, 1942. p. 5 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  21. ↑ "La Gitana Chorus to Sing Tonight". San Pedro News Pilot. May 14, 1937. p. 12 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  22. ↑ "American Music Receives Impetus at Club Biennial". Musical America. 22: 4. July 10, 1915.
  23. ↑ "State Music Teachers in Convention". San Diego Union and Daily Bee. July 10, 1918. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  24. ↑ Quinn, Alfred Price (July 16, 1943). "Music". B'nai B'rith Messenger. p. 7. Retrieved June 24, 2022 – via National Library of Israel.
  25. ↑ "Music Teachers' Assn". San Jose Mercury-News. April 25, 1920. p. 45 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  26. ↑ Smith, Catherine Parsons (2007-10-16). Making Music in Los Angeles: Transforming the Popular. University of California Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-520-93383-5.
  27. ↑ "Musical Honors". Mill Valley Record. June 5, 1926. p. 4. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  28. ↑ "Southern Forces Well Presented at State Parley of Music Clubs". The Press Democrat. 1927-04-05. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ "Southland Music Clubs to Entertain Delegates at Close of Convention". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1931-05-19. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  30. ↑ Aldrich, Eoline (1935-04-11). "Club Accomplishments Listed at Music Parley". The Long Beach Sun. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ "Coast Woman is Paid Honor". Arizona Republic. 1934-04-14. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. 1 2 "L. A. Musician Dies". The San Francisco Examiner. 1955-08-10. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ↑ "Greek Theater for Hollywood Planned". Los Angeles Herald. June 27, 1919. p. 21. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  34. ↑ "Community Song at R. C. Sunday". Morning Press. June 9, 1917. p. 5. Retrieved June 24, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  35. ↑ "Ebell Club Leader: Prominent Woman Takes Important Part in Work of Society". Los Angeles Herald. October 23, 1904. Retrieved June 24, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  36. ↑ Rodman, Willoughby (1909). History of the Bench and Bar of Southern California. W. J. Porter. p. 181.
  37. ↑ "Mrs. Abbie N. Jamison, Music Club Leader, Dies". The Los Angeles Times. 1955-08-10. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ↑ "Abbie Jamison Rites Pending". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. 1955-08-10. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.