Gertrude Ina Robinson (1868 – 7 September 1950) was an American author, composer, and

harpist The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual string (music), strings running at an angle to its sound board (music), soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing ...

Biography

Robinson was the oldest of four children born in

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

, Iowa, to Mary Frances Jackson and Robert Harvey Robinson. Her father was a shoe and boot dealer; her mother owned a

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

and

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

mine. Robinson studied piano as a child. Her harp teachers were

Alphonse Hasselmans Alphonse Jean Hasselmans (5 March 1845 – 19 May 1912) was a Belgium-born French harpist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Hasselmans was born in Liège, Belgium. He studied initially at the Conservatory in Strasbourg, which was led since 1 ...

, Edmond Schuecker and Enrico Tramonti. By 1910, Robinson was living in New York City. She gave harp lessons and served as the harpist at Madison Square Presbyterian Church, a position she held for many years. She belonged to the Authors League of America, the Mozart Club, and

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

. In addition to writing books, poems, and at least one article, Robinson designed gift tags produced by Dennison Manufacturing Co. These items are archived at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Rare Book and Special Collections Division. By 1930, Robinson had moved to Nassau, New York, where in 1940 she was employed in real estate. Robinson’s books were published by Floral Fairies Publishing, located at her home address. Her music was published by

Carl Fischer Music Carl Fischer Music is an American sheet music publisher. It was founded in 1872 in the East Village neighborhood of New York City as a musical instrument repair shop. Except for a brief period in the early 1930s, it has always been the family- ...

, International Music Company, and

Oliver Ditson Oliver Ditson (October 20, 1811 – December 21, 1888) was an American businessman and founder of Oliver Ditson and Company, one of the major music publishing houses of the late 19th century. Early life and career Oliver Ditson was born in Bos ...

. Her poems were published in The Open Road: Official Organ of the Society of the Universal Brotherhood of Man, vol 7 1911.

Published works

Articles

*''The Harp in the Orchestra'' (The Crescendo vol 9, no 8 Feb 1917 p 9)

Books

*''Floral Fairies Series: The Little Miss Hollys'' *''Floral Fairies Series: The Mistletoes’ Pranks'' (illustrated by F. A. Carter)

Harp

*''10 Classics for Harp and Organ'' *''20 Advanced Melodic & Progressive Etudes for Harp'' *''20 Melodic & Progressive Etudes for Harp'' *''Advanced Lessons for the Harp: Comprising Preludes in Minor Keys, Glissandos and Solos in Characteristic Forms for Harp According to the Famous Hasselmans Method'' *''Duos for Violin and Small Irish Harp'' *''Excerpts and Solos for Small Harp'' *''Fairies Dream'' *''Groves of Blarney'' *''Original Compositions and Adaptations for the Harp''

Poems

*''Gate of LIfe'' *''Sunshine and Rain''

Vocal

*''Shepherds Watch Thy Rest at NIght'' (mixed voices; text by Gertrude Ina Robinson; melody by Howard Elmore Parkhurst)
Download free public domain sheet music for harp by Gertrude Ina Robinson

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Gertrude Ina 1868 births 1950 deaths American women harpists 20th-century American women composers 20th-century American women writers American women writers about music Daughters of the American Revolution people Writers from Waterloo, Iowa Musicians from Iowa 20th-century American composers