Gertrude Ross (1889-1957) was a versatile American composer and pianist who wrote music for films and stage as well as songs and instrumental works. She researched Japanese and Hebrew music for her own compositions and collected Spanish folksongs from early California settlers.[1][2]
Biography
Ross was born in
Dayton, Ohio,[3] to Emma Corinne McCreary and Abner L. Ross. She showed early musical talent as a child, playing music by ear and giving concerts starting at age 10. She attended the
Cumnock School of Expression in Los Angeles for three years, then studied at the
University of Southern California for an additional year.[4]
Ross married in 1903 and had a daughter, Corinne, in 1904. In 1910, Ross left her husband and resumed using her maiden name. She studied piano for two years in Germany with
Severin Eisenberger and
Theodor Leschetitzky. Later, she studied counterpoint with
Nadia Boulanger.[4][5][6]
Ross learned Japanese and studied Japanese instruments to compose Art Songs of Japan. Japanese citizens in California gave her a key to Japan in appreciation of this work. Ross also collected and published the traditional melodies played by the early Spanish settlers of California. In 1923, she composed new music for the outdoor performance The Pilgrimage Play: The Life of Christ by
Christine Wetherill, incorporating Hebrew chants, scales, and instruments like the shofar. [4] She helped raise money to build the
Hollywood Bowl and gave public lectures about the music played on its summer concert series.[7][8]
In 1919, Ross helped found the California Federation of Music Clubs. The same year, she served as president of Los Angeles’ Dominant Club for female musicians.[9] In 1928, she chaired the
National Federation of Music Clubs American Composers group, as well as the Hollywood Bowl Annual Composition Prize Committee.[10][6] In her role as president of the Los Angeles Pro Musica chapter, she helped sponsor early performances of
Arnold Schoenberg’s music.[11]
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abStewart-Green, Miriam (1980). Women composers: A checklist of works for the solo voice. A reference publication in women's studies. Boston, Mass: Hall. p. 61.
ISBN978-0-8161-8498-9.