Myra Mortimer (March 26, 1894 – January 29, 1972) was an American contralto singer with an international career in the 1920s.

Early life and education

Mortimer was born in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

and raised in

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, the daughter of Daniel Mortimer and Dora Angie Munson Mortimer. Her father was a journalist. She initially trained as a pianist in Cleveland, but a hand injury turned her attention to singing.

Career

Mortimer was a contralto who specialized in German ''lieder''. She toured in Europe in 1925. In January 1926, she made her American debut in Boston. She sang in Los Angeles, Spokane and Tacoma in March 1926. Mortimer toured again in Europe in 1927, and gave recitals at

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and

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. ''The New York Times'' described Mortimer's voice as "one of dramatic capabilities, range and power, with lighter lyric moments." She was a soloist with the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

in the 1927–1928 season. She sang with the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...

and in

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, before returning to Europe for most of 1928. Sandy_Road_with_a_Farmhouse_MET_DP147598

Mortimer lived and taught voice in London through the 1930s. She volunteered for air raid warden service in New York City in 1941.

Publications

*"Analyzing Audiences in Many Lands" (1927)

Personal life

Mortimer was nearly six feet tall. She married her instructor, Willem Giesen, in 1925, in London. She married Austrian businessman Frederick R. Pinter in 1932, also in London. She died in 1972, at the age of 77, in New York City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortimer, Myra 1894 births 1972 deaths People from Spokane, Washington American singers Contraltos