Caro Roma (1866–1937) was the stage name of Carrie Northey, 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 ...

singer and composer known for

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

era songs.

Biography

Carrie Northey (Northly has been cited, but Federal Census records and her obituary and death record insist on Northey) was born in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

and began performing on stage at age three. She studied in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

and as a teenager toured in Canada as orchestra conductor for a French opera company. She became

prima donna In opera or commedia dell'arte, a prima donna (; Italian for "first lady"; plural: ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pers ...

with the Henry Savage Opera Company in Boston and sang opera in the United States and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, also performing for royalty. Northey wrote songs and poetry as a child and developed her composition skills during her years as a performer. In 1932 at age 71, Northey performed nineteen of her songs at a concert in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. She died in California.

Works

Besides her Tin Pan Alley song, Northey wrote

sea songs ''Sea Songs'' is an arrangement of three British sea-songs by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. It is based on the songs "Princess Royal", " Admiral Benbow" and "Portsmouth". The work is a march of roughly four minutes duration. It fo ...

and composed at least one

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice ...

. Selected works include: *''Can't Yo' Heah Me Callin' Caroline'' (1914) *''The Wandering One'', song cycle, lyrics by

Clement Scott Clement William Scott (6 October 1841 – 25 June 1904) was an influential English theatre critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' and other journals, and a playwright, lyricist, translator and travel writer, in the final decades of the 19th century ...

*''Faded Rose'' *''The Angelus,'' *''Thinking of Thee'' *''Resignation'' In collaboration with composer

Ernest R. Ball Ernest Roland Ball (July 22, 1878 – May 3, 1927) was an American singer and songwriter, most famous for composing the music for the song "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" in 1912. He was not himself Irish. Early life and education Born in Cl ...

, she also wrote the lyrics for: *''In The Garden Of My Heart'' *''Love Me Today'' *''Tomorrow May Never Come''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roma, Caro 1866 births 1937 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers American women composers American music educators Women classical composers 19th-century American composers 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American composers Women music educators 20th-century women composers 19th-century women composers 19th-century American women musicians