Frances Terry (1884–1965) was an American composer. A native of East Windsor,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, Terry undertook composition lessons with Louis Victor Saar and Mr. and Mrs.

Edmund Severn Edmund Severn (December 10, 1862 – May 14, 1942) was an American composer and violinist. Born in Nottingham, England, he moved to the United States at four, settling in Hartford, Connecticut and studying violin with his father; he later studie ...

, among others. She was active as a piano instructor in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's 16th-most-populous municipality,New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, later moving to

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Much of her output consists of works for piano, but she composed a

violin sonata A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple Baroque music, baroque form wi ...

and a

theme and variations In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve melody, rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these. Variation is often contrasted with mu ...

for

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

as well; the sonata received a prize from the Society for the Publication of American Music in 1931. Stylistically, her work has been described as "Mildly 20th-century with strong expressive qualities and rich harmonies".

References

1884 births 1965 deaths 20th-century American composers American music educators American women music educators 20th-century American educators People from East Windsor, Connecticut People from Northampton, Massachusetts Educators from Connecticut Classical musicians from Connecticut Educators from Massachusetts Classical musicians from Massachusetts 20th-century American women composers 20th-century American women educators {{US-composer-19thC-stub