May Louise Cooper Spindle (January 1, 1885 – October 1968) was an American composer and teacher who wrote many pedagogical pieces for piano. Spindle was born in

Muskegon Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

, Michigan, to Rosina H. Winters and Charles Bicknell Cooper. She married Lee Addison Spindle in 1911. Spindle began music lessons with her mother and later attended the

Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, United States. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicag ...

. Her teachers included Felix Borowski, Glen Dillard, Laurence Powell, Hans von Schiller, Charles Vogan, and Max Wald. She socialized with composer Eleanor Everest Freer. Spindle belonged to the American Society of Composers, Author, and Publishers (ASCAP), the Michigan Composers Club, and the

Music Teachers National Association Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) is an American nonprofit professional organization for the support, growth, and development of music-teaching professionals, with more than 17,000 members in 50 states, and more than 500 affiliated loca ...

. In 1937, she was the Grand Rapids winner of the Michigan State Composers Contest. She taught at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. Spindle's music was published by Bach Music Co./Harry Dellafield, Forster Music Publisher Inc., and

Mills Music Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 18, 1894 Odessa, Ukraine – April 21, 1985) was a music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz promoter. He often used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal life Mills w ...

. In addition to pedagogical pieces for piano, her compositions included:

Chamber

*''Caprice Espagnole'' (violin and piano)

Orchestra

*Southlands Suite

Organ

*''Prelude of Spring''

Piano

*''Bouncy Balls'' *''Holiday in Naples'' *''Parade of the Bunnies'' *''Ping Pong'' *''Somersaults Rndoletto: Study in Crossing Hands and Staccato'' *''Swaying Pussywillows''

Vocal

*“April Wind” *“Christmas Roundelay” *''City Eternal'' (cantata) *“God’s Gift Supreme” *''Moon Magic'' (arranged for 2 or 3-part chorus) *''My Dream Ship'' (arranged for 2, 3, or 4-part chorus) *''Pickaninny Song'' (text by Helen Von Kolnitz Hyer; arranged for 2 or 3-part chorus) (E)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spindle, Louise Cooper 1885 births 1968 deaths American women composers ASCAP composers and authors Columbia University faculty Chicago Musical College alumni