Olive Nelson Russell

Last updated

Olive Nelson Russell (28 September 1905 - 30 March 1989) was an American composer, organist, and pianist who wrote works for chorus, organ and piano. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Life and career

Russell was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, to Lora and Emil Nelson. She married Clarence Russell in 1935. Their son is the author Dick Russell. She studied music in Paris, and at the Sherwood Music School (today Columbia College) and the American Conservatory of Music, both in Chicago. Her teachers included Robert Casadesus and Yves Nat. [4] [5]

As a pianist, Russell performed in France (Bordeaux and Paris) and throughout the United States (Beloit, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and New York). As a church organist, she worked in Chicago, Kansas City, and Minneapolis. She was a keyboard instructor at MacPhail College of Music from 1942 to 1947, and at the University of Missouri Kansas City from 1961 to 1971. Russell also gave a keyboard workshop at the El Paso Institute of the Arts in 1974. [4] [6] Russell died on 30 March 1989 in Aurora, Colorado. [7]

Russell composed organ and choral works suitable for church performance, and teaching pieces for piano. She often collaborated with Ethel Tench Rogers. Many of her piano pieces were included in pedagogy collections. Her works were published by Belwin Mills Publishing Corp., CPP/Belwin Inc., Harold Flammer Inc., J Fischer & Bro., ProArt Publications, and Summy Birchard. [8] [9] [10] [11]

List and compositions

Choral

Organ

Piano

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard N. Fowles</span> English musician

Leonard Nowell Fowles was an English organist and choirmaster, classical music composer, arranger, teacher, adjudicator and conductor, best remembered for his hymn tunes "Golders Green" and "Phoenix".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hotchkiss Rogers</span> Musical artist

James Hotchkiss Rogers was an American organist, composer, teacher, music critic, and publisher.

Ilse Gerda Wunsch was an American composer, pianist, teacher, and choral conductor who was born in Germany.

Margaret Viola Wigham was a composer, music educator and pianist, born in Minnesota. She was nationally known as a mid-century composer of student piano pieces. Her pieces often had an educational focus such as chromaticism, counterpoint, 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.

Mary Wiggins was an American composer, educator, organist, and pianist, born in Indiana, Pennsylvania. She studied composition at Carnegie-Mellon University with Roland Leich, and privately with Gladys W. Fisher and Harvey B. Gaul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanna Vollenhoven</span> Dutch composer and pianist

Hanna van Vollenhoven Vories was a Dutch composer and pianist who moved to America in 1916. She is best remembered today for composing and performing music for player piano rolls, and for New York University's annual Hanna van Vollenhollen Fories Memorial Prize in Music. Her music was published under the name "Hanna Vollenhoven.

Constance Cochnower Virtue was an American composer and organist who developed a musical notation system called the Virtue Notagraph.

Marcelle Henriette Marie Villin was a French composer and organist who published her music under the name "Marcelle Villin."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Vanderpoel</span>

Cornelia Townsend was an American song composer who published most of her music under the name Kate Vanderpoel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anice Potter Terhune</span> American author, composer, music educator and church organist

Anice Morris Stockton Terhune was an American author, composer, music educator, and church organist, who composed over 100 children's songs. She was known as "Annie," and sometimes published under the pseudonym Morris Stockton.

Louise E. Simpson Stairs was an American composer, organist, and pianist, who sometimes published under the pseudonym Sidney Forrest. She composed several cantatas, as well as piano and vocal works for children.

May Louise Cooper Spindle was an American composer and teacher who wrote many pedagogical pieces for piano.

Beatrice Houllier Siegrist is a French composer, music educator, and organist who is best known for winning an Honorable Mention for composition in the Prix de Rome and for her compositions for trombone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Louise Ashford</span>

Emma Louise Ashford was an American organist, composer, and music editor. She wrote over 600 compositions. From 1894 to 1930 she was an editor at Lorenz Publishing Company, and at its periodicals The Choir Leader and The Organist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juliette Toutain</span> French musician (1877–1948)

Marie Juliette Toutain was a French pianist, organist, and composer.

Lillian Alison Tait Sheldon was an American composer and organist who composed many hymns.

Grace Walls Linn Sandy was a ragtime composer and organist. The National Spiritualist Association of Churches made one of her compositions its official song. She published under the name Grace Walls Linn.

Margaret Ferrell Vardell Sandresky is an American composer, organist and teacher. She was still composing on her 100th birthday. She was a founding member of the Society for Music Theory (SMT) as well as its first female contibutor.

Ethel Tench Rogers was a prolific American composer who published over 200 sacred and pedagogical compositions for organ, piano, synthesizer and voice.

Helen Elizabeth Roessing Aiton was an American composer of piano music whose composition won first prize at the Conservatoire Americain de Fountainebleau in France. She published her music under the name Helen Roessing.

References

  1. Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International encyclopedia of women composers. 2: Sai - Zyb, Appendices (2. ed., revised and enl ed.). New York: Books & Music. p. 606. ISBN   978-0-9617485-1-7.
  2. Russell, Olive Nelson. "U.S. Social Security Death Index". ancestry.com. Retrieved 28 Sep 2023.
  3. Heinrich, Adel (1991). Organ and harpsichord music by women composers: an annotated catalog. Music reference collection (1. publ ed.). New York: Greenwood Pr. p. 319. ISBN   978-0-313-26802-1.
  4. 1 2 "Russell, Olive Nelson (September 28, 1915-April 23, 1935) | Special Collections and Archives Finding Aids". finding-aids.library.umkc.edu. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  5. Russell, Dick (2009-02-02). Black Genius: Inspirational Portraits of African-American Leaders. Skyhorse. ISBN   978-1-62636-646-6.
  6. Cooper, Brad (Aug 1974). "Around the State: El Paso". Texas Monthly. 2 (8): 120.
  7. "Obituary for Olive Nelson Russell". Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "RUSSELL, OLIVE NELSON Archives". The Leupold Foundation. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  9. Rogers, Ethel Tench; Russell, Olive Nelson (1965). ProArt All Organ Method. ProArt Publications.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1967). Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series. pp. 4, 166, 402, 408, 511, 544, 548, 658, 669.
  11. 1 2 Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1943. p. 858.
  12. Flatau, Carole. Blue Ribbon Encyclopedia, Level 2: Favorite Piano Solos. Alfred Music. p. 3. ISBN   978-1-4574-6143-9.
  13. Clark, Frances; Goss, Louise; Holland, Sam. The Music Tree: Students' Choice, Part 4: A Plan for Musical Growth at the Piano. Alfred Music. ISBN   978-1-4574-0051-3.