Abbie Norton Jamison

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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[edit]

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[edit]

Music[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

  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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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.
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