Margaret Viola Wigham (February 3, 1904 – April 17, 1972) was a composer, music educator and pianist, born in
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
. She was nationally known as a mid-century composer of student piano pieces. Her pieces often had an educational focus such as
chromaticism
Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic scale, diatonic pitch (music), pitches and chord (music), chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. In simple terms, within each octave, diatonic music uses o ...
,
counterpoint
In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...
, learning to play in different keys, or using each hand independently. Her works were published by
Oliver Ditson Co., Willis Music, Harold Flammer Inc, Belwin Inc, and R. D. Row. They were also published in Braille and made available through the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.
Her compositions include:
Orchestra
*Concerto for Two Pianos
Piano
*''Bachette''
*''By the Little Mill''
*''Carefree''
*''Fun with a Hoop''
*''Gay Caprice''
*''Happitat''
*''Hop Along My Little Froggie''
*''In the Chapel''
*''Introduction and Sonatina''
*''Just Before Dawn''
*''Little Prelude''
*''Merrily Over the Waves We Go''
*''Musical Moods in All Keys''
*''Musical Playmates''
*''Now It's Time to Run and Play''
*''O So Happy''
*''Old Cowboy Trail''
*''On Swan Lake''
*''Puppet Mischief''
*''Rhapsody
''
*''Scampering Whole Steps''
*''Scherzino''
Vocal
*“I Wonder Where the Robins Go?” (words by Margaret Wigham and Wilma Wigham)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigham, Margaret
20th-century American women composers
20th-century American women pianists
1972 deaths
1904 births
Musicians from Minnesota
Composers for piano