Mildred Elizabeth Thomson Souers[1] (February 26, 1894 - August 1977)[2] was an American composer[3] who wrote music for ballets and ballet studios, as well as for chamber ensembles, piano, and voice.[4]
Souers was born in Des Moines, Iowa, to Addie F. and Ogilvie Sinclair Thomson. She married Marshall Ankeny Souers in 1918 and they had one son.[2]
Souers attended Drake University, where she studied with Francis J. Pyle.[5] Later, she studied with Marion Bauer in New York.[6] During World War I, she worked as a studio accompanist for Grace Jones Jackson, and volunteered as a weekly entertainer on Red Cross programs.[1] She was an announcer for Iowa radio stations KSO and KRNT.[7]
Souers belonged to the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP),[4] the music sorority Sigma Alpha Iota, and the First Church of Christ, Scientist. She was a board member of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra.[8] One of her choral compositions won First Prize from the National Federation of Music Clubs.[4] The Iowa Federation of Music Clubs honored her as their Composer of the Year in 1962.[9]
Souers’ papers are archived at the State Historical Society of Iowa in the Annals of Iowa.[7] Her compositions were recorded commercially by Hoctor Records,[10] a sub-label of Dance Records, Inc.[11] Souers’ music is published by Carl Fischer Inc., [12] Hal Leonard,[13] and Willis Music Co.[14] Her compositions include:
Ballet edit
- Ballet of the Enchanted Dolls (piano, flute and voice; with Betty Bird and Titiana Grantzeva)[10]
- Barre and Technique Melodies for the Dance Studio[15]
- Dance of the Field Mice[16]
Piano edit
- Dance Suite[14]
- Impromptu[4]
- Toccata Breve[17]
- Under the Greenwood Tree[6]
Vocal edit
- “April Weather” (text by Lizette Woodworth Reese)[18]
- “Christmas Folk Song”[19]
- “Feed My Sheep” (text by Mary Baker Eddy)[20]
- “Immortal”[4]
- “Iowa, Beautiful Land”[8]
- “What Christmas Means to Me”
- Winter Nocturne (for chorus)[15]
References edit
- ^ a b Souers, Mildred (15 Sep 1918). "The Des Moines Register". Newspapers.com. p. 29. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ a b Souers, Mildred. "ancestry.com". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ Stern, Susan (1978). Women composers : a handbook. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-1138-3. OCLC 3844725.
- ^ a b c d e Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International Encyclopedia of Women Composers. Books & Music (USA). ISBN 978-0-9617485-1-7.
- ^ Pfitzinger, Scott (2017-03-01). Composer Genealogies: A Compendium of Composers, Their Teachers, and Their Students. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-7225-5.
- ^ a b Claghorn, Charles Eugene (1996). Women composers and songwriters : a concise biographical dictionary. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-585-03162-2. OCLC 42329817.
- ^ a b Annals of Iowa. Iowa State Historical Department, Division of Historical Museum and Archives. 2001.
- ^ a b Souers, Mildred (31 Aug 1977). "The Des Moines Register". Newspapers.com. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ Pan Pipes of Sigma Alpha Iota. George Banta Company. 1962.
- ^ a b The Ballet Of The Enchanted Dolls Mildred Thompson Souers Betty Bird Tatiana Grantzeva, retrieved 2022-01-25
- ^ Records, Hoctor. "Rate Your Music - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ Stewart-Green, Miriam (1980). Women composers : a checklist of works for the solo voice. Boston, Mass.: G.K. Hall. ISBN 0-8161-8498-4. OCLC 6815939.
- ^ "Mildred T. Souers: Impromptu: National Federation of Music Clubs 2014-2016 Selection Advanced Level". Presto Music. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ a b Souers, Mildred. "Scholars Junction - Mississippi State University Institutional Repository". scholarsjunction.msstate.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ a b Anderson, Ruth (1976). Contemporary American composers : a biographical dictionary. Boston: G.K. Hall. ISBN 0-8161-1117-0. OCLC 2035024.
- ^ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1957). Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series.
- ^ Clavier: A Magazine for Pianists & Organists. Instrumentalist Company. 1964.
- ^ Showcase: Music Clubs Magazine. National Federation of Music Clubs. 1960.
- ^ Bro, J. Fischer &; Bro, J. Fischer &. "J. Fischer & Bro. Music Publishers Collection". infomotions.com. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ "Solo Bank - Composer Index". vocal-works.com. Retrieved 2022-01-25.