Irene Cozad (July 4, 1888 – August 2, 1970), later known as Irene Cozad-Sherer, was an American pianist, piano teacher, and composer of ragtime music.
Irene Cozad | |
|---|---|
 Irene Cozad Sherer, from sheet music published in 1920. | |
| Born | Irene Bazelle Cozad July 4, 1888 Lineville, Iowa |
| Died | August 2, 1970 Kansas City, Missouri |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Irene Cozad-Sherer, I. C. Sherer |
| Occupation | composer |
Early life edit
Irene Bazelle Cozad was born in Lineville, Iowa, one of the nine children of Joseph Addison Cozad and Olive Jane Vanderbeck Cozad. Her father was a school teacher and worked at a newspaper.[1]
Career edit
Cozad played and taught piano in Kansas City, Missouri.[1] Compositions by Cozad included "Affinity Rag" (1910), "Eatin' Time Rag" (1913), "That Sunday Wedding Day" (1914, words by Gwen Meredith),[2] "The Minute Circle Whirl" (1916),[3] "Because", and "Kansas City Town" (1920).[4] The last, "Kansas City Town", was written for a contest marking the year that the city's population reached one million.[5] Her compositions are considered an example of the Kansas City Folk Rag genre.[6][7]
Personal life edit
Irene Cozad married Joseph Whitman Sherer, a medical doctor, in 1912. They had a daughter, Jeanne, and a son, Joseph Jr.[8] Her husband died in a car accident in 1940; she died in Kansas City in 1970, aged 82 years.[9]
Her compositions are sometimes featured in recordings and performances of ragtime works by women, including the collections Pickles and Peppers (1987) and Fluffy Ruffle Girls: Women in Ragtime (1999), both by Virginia Eskin.[10][11]
References edit
- ^ a b Edwards, Bill. "Irene Bazelle Cozad Sherer". RagPiano.com. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1914). Musical Compositions: Part 3. Library of Congress. p. 860.
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries. 1916. p. 911.
- ^ Tjaden, Ted, Women Composers of Ragtime.
- ^ "Kansas City Town (1920), sheet music". UMKC Digital Special Collections. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ Jasen, David A.; Tichenor, Trebor Jay (2013-02-13). Rags and Ragtime: A Musical History. Courier Corporation. p. 40. ISBN 9780486144573.
- ^ "C.L. Johnson, Joplin and Harlem dominate May '03 OCRS". Orange County Ragtime Society. May 2003. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ Who's who in the Central States. Mayflower Publishing Company. 1929. p. 885.
- ^ "Mrs. Irene C. Sherer". The Kansas City Times. August 3, 1970. p. 33. Retrieved July 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pickles and peppers: and other rags by women., Northeastern Records, 1987, OCLC 16439394, retrieved 2019-07-19
- ^ Eskin, Virginia. Fluffy Ruffle Girls: Women in Ragtime (Koch International Classics 1999).