The Fadettes of Boston was an all-women orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, and founded and directed by Caroline B. Nichols. Formed in 1888 as the Boston Fadette Ladies' Orchestra, it was named after the titular character of George Sand's novel La Petite Fadette. The Fadettes, among other female-only orchestras, challenged gender norms of the 19th and 20th centuries, as many orchestral instruments were deemed inappropriate for women to play.
The ensemble originally fitted under the club model, as it comprised a small group of women from a given community who rarely went on tour, but as the Fadettes grew in size and popularity, they incorporated elements of the career model, which typically played for a paying audience. Between 1890 and 1920, the Fadettes performed at an estimated 6,000 concerts, largely due to a contract with vaudeville manager B.F. Keith signed in 1898. The orchestra also gave over $500,000 to more than 600 female musicians. After an infrequent concert schedule in the early 1920s, the Fadettes of Boston disbanded in 1927. The orchestra's success led to a significant rise in opportunities for women in music, such as the incorporation of members in the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Keith's Theatre.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, women faced discrimination in the musical industry. This led to the rise of all-women orchestras, originally known as lady orchestras.[1] American musicologist Judith Tick notes that the popularity of lady orchestras stemmed from their exploitation of gender discrimination by playing instruments that were typically reserved for men.[2][3] One of the more notable ensembles was the Fadette Ladies' Orchestra, established in 1888 by conductor Caroline B. Nichols, along with five of her friends, making her one of the first female professional orchestra conductors in the United States.[4]
The group incorporated in 1895 as the Fadettes of Boston,[5] named after Fanchon Fadette, the titular character of George Sand's novel La Petite Fadette.[2] The name was chosen for the orchestra as, like the character herself, they strived to bring happiness to their audience.[6] The original group of 6 expanded to 20 by 1898, when vaudeville manager B.F. Keith booked the Fadettes into his theatres across the United States.[3] The orchestra included violinists, violists, and drummers,[7] and included musicians such as Annie Andros Hawley,[8] Mildred Rogers,[9] and violinist Lillian Thain.[10] Nichols, who received financial support from her brother-in-law,[11] was in charge of the orchestra for 30 years, having musically and professionally trained over 600 women.[12]
Entrance to Keith's Theatre, Boston, with a poster for the Fadettes, 1906
According to Nichols, the Fadettes gave over 6,000 concerts between 1890 and 1920, half of them as headliners in first-class vaudeville theatres.[3] At a concert in Pittsburgh in 1902, for instance, the Fadettes played marches, waltzes, songs and arias by Frederick Field Bullard, Daniel Auber, Karl Michael Ziehrer, George M. Rosey, and Victor G. Boehnlein, among others.[13][9] The group also performed at the Los Angeles Orpheum,[14] and at Keith's Theatre, members of the Fadettes replaced Boston Symphony Orchestra members during performances.[11] From 1888 to 1920, the Fadettes gave over $500,000 ($17.5millionin 2024) to over 600 female musicians, but the Fadettes disbanded in 1927 following a sporadic concert schedule in the early 1920s.[15]
Performance style
The Fadettes of Boston originally resembled the club model ensemble, which included women of a select community and did not normally tour due to a large number of the women having families of their own.[16] As the orchestra grew in popularity, they shifted towards the career model, which catered towards a paying audience,[17] and they played classical music alongside popular compositions.[2]
At the time, many orchestral instruments were considered unbefitting of women, thus the band was challenging gender norms; the performers wore white shimmery gowns considered traditionally feminine while playing a wide variety of instruments.[11][18] When a female musician was absent, a man dressed in woman's clothing took her place to create the illusion of an all-female orchestra.[11]
Legacy
The success of the Fadettes of Boston led to women's orchestras being established throughout the United States, giving women the chance to conduct and perform in orchestral works.[19] The prevalence of women in the musical industry led to subsequent shifts in women's uniforms, going from white dresses similar to what the Fadettes wore to more formal black outfits, hinting at a more refined and professional ensemble.[20]
↑ Frances E. Willard (1897), Occupations for women: A book of practical suggestions, for the material advancement, the mental and physical development, and the moral and spiritual uplift of women, New York: The Success Company, OCLC2665928, OL24361133M
↑ Sketches of representative women of New England, Boston: New England Historical Pub. Co., 1904, OCLC123500907, OL7194233M
"Fadettes took name from a Sands novel." The Pittsburgh Press - Jun 16, 1907
Blanche Naylor, The Anthology of the Fadettes. Boston, 1937.
External links
Johns Hopkins University, Levy Sheet Music Collection. Marie Louka (composer). The Fadettes; March & Two-Step. Philadelphia: World Publishing Co., 1904. "Dedicated to Mrs. Caroline B. Nichols, Director of the Fadettes of Boston, The Famous Ladies' Orchestra."
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