Bertha Anna Weber (March 31, 1887 – April 17, 1961) was an American composer and organist.

Life and career

She was born in New Baden, Illinois, to John and Elizabeth Weber. The family moved to

Pomona Pomona may refer to: Places Argentina * Pomona, Río Negro Australia * Pomona, Queensland, Australia, a town in the Shire of Noosa * Pomona, New South Wales, Australia Belize * Pomona, Belize, a municipality in Stann Creek District Mexico ...

, California, in 1887. Weber studied music at Pomona College, the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, and in Europe. She was an organist at Pomona First Presbyterian Church in 1907, and later at Trinity Methodist Church for a number of years. She moved to

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

and maintained a studio at the Hotel Claremont there from around 1924 until she moved to

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

in 1947. She continued composing and giving music lessons and recitals until her death in 1961, when she committed suicide by stepping in front of a train. She was a member of the professional music fraternity Sigma Alpha Iota.

Works

Weber's compositions were published by Willis Music Company. They include:

Opera

*''The Mysterious Characters of Mr. Fu'' (1932)

Vocal

*"Abraham Lincoln" *"Angels and Shepherds Song" *"Lincoln So Brave and True"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Bertha American women composers 1887 births 1961 deaths American opera composers Pomona College alumni Suicides by train 1961 suicides American organists Sigma Alpha Iota Suicides in the United States