Eleanor Everest Freer (14 May 1864 – 13 Dec 1942) was an American composer and philanthropist.

Life

Eleanor Everest was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, the daughter of Cornelius Everest and Ellen Amelia (Clark) Everest, and studied singing in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

with

Mathilde Marchesi Mathilde Marchesi (née Graumann; 24 March 1821 – 17 November 1913) was a German mezzo-soprano, a singing teacher, and a proponent of the bel canto vocal method. Biography Marchesi was born in Frankfurt. Her father's last name was Graumann ...

and composition with

Benjamin Godard Benjamin Louis Paul Godard (18 August 184910 January 1895) was a French violinist and Romantic-era composer of Jewish extraction, best known for his opera ''Jocelyn''. Godard composed eight operas, five symphonies, two piano and two violin concer ...

. She taught music in

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, and married Chicago doctor Archibald Freer in 1893. The couple had one daughter and moved to Chicago in 1899, where Eleanor Freer studied music theory with

Bernard Ziehn Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...

. In 1934, she received a

D.Mus. The Doctor of Music degree (D.Mus., D.M., Mus.D. or occasionally Mus.Doc.) is a higher doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions and/or scholarly publications on music. Like other higher doctorates, it is granted b ...

from the Boguslawski College of Music. She died in Chicago in 1942. Freer was an active advocate for American opera, and opera sung in English. To this end, she helped to found the Opera in Our Language Foundation (OOLF) in 1921, and the David Bispham Memorial Fund in 1922 to promote concerts of American composers' works and award a Bispham Medal. The two organizations merged in 1924 to become the American Opera Society of Chicago. She died in Chicago in 1942.Cooke, James Francis, ed. (February 1943). "The World of Music". The Etude. Theodore Presser. 61 (2): 3. Freer's one act opera ''The Legend of the Piper'' was performed numerous times by the

American Opera Company The American Opera Company was the name of four different opera companies active in the United States. The first company was a short-lived opera company founded in New York City in February, 1886 that lasted only one season. The second company grew ...

from 1928 through 1929.

Works

Freer composed eleven operas and more than 150 songs, many of which were published in collections. Selected works include: *''A Book of Songs'', op. 4 (9 songs) *''Five Songs to Spring'' *''Four Songs'' *''Six Songs to Nature'' *''Sonnets from the Portuguese'' (44 songs) *''The Brownings Go to Italy'' *'' Massimiliano, or The Court Jester'', Romantic Opera in One Act *''The Legend of the Piper'' opera *''Little Women'' opera

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freer, Eleanor Everest 1864 births 1942 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers American women classical composers American classical composers American opera composers Musicians from Philadelphia Pupils of Bernhard Ziehn 19th-century American composers Women opera composers 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American composers 19th-century American women musicians Classical musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century women composers 19th-century women composers