Ada Clement (1878 – July 18, 1952) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

pianist and music teacher. She co-founded what would become the

San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgh ...

Life

Clement was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in 1878. She studied piano with Mrs. John Vance Cheeney and spent her later childhood on a ranch in

Shasta County, California Shasta County (), officially the County of Shasta, is a county in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 182,155 as of the 2020 census, up from 177,223 from the 2010 census. The county seat is Redding. Shasta ...

. Upon returning to San Francisco, she studied piano with Mrs. Oscar Cushing, and later with Oscar Weil. She was present on the day of the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

when she turned back from going to her piano lessons by the devastation that she found in the city. Clement went to Europe in 1909 to take piano lessons with

Josef Lhévinne Josef Lhévinne (13 December 18742 December 1944) was a Russian pianist and piano teacher. Lhévinne wrote a short book in 1924 that is considered a classic: ''Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing''. Asked how to say his name, he told ''The Li ...

and

Harold Bauer Harold Victor Bauer (28 April 1873 – 12 March 1951) was a noted pianist of Jewish heritage who began his musical career as a violinist. Biography Harold Bauer was born in Kingston upon Thames; his father was a German violinist and his mot ...

. In autumn 1917 Clement with Lillian Hodghead opened the Ada Clement Piano School, which was initially based at the home of her parents. There were four studios and three pianos and just four pupils. In 1923 the school was offering courses in a number of musical instruments; it was renamed the

. The conservatory taught music theory, composition as well as singing. Ada was a dedicated teacher and co-director of the Conservatory until 1925 when she was succeeded by her friend, tutor and lover

Ernest Bloch Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. As well as producing music ...

. He had joined the faculty in 1924 when he taught a summer school the year before and the success of this saw him appointed as the new director. The five years he was there saw the conservatory and its reputation increase. Bloch left to devote himself to composition but he remained a friend of Clement. Clement and Hodgehead resumed the leadership. Clement died in 1952 at home from cancer. Ernest Bloch wrote a special composition "In Memorium" for her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Ada 1878 births 1952 deaths Pianists from San Francisco 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists American women music educators