Eunice Lea Kettering (April 4, 1906 – March 9, 2000) was an American composer and professor. Kettering wrote many compositions and almost 20,000 copies of her work were published. She was the first woman in the United States to become a Fellow in the

American Guild of Organists The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is an international organization of academic, church, and concert organists in the US, headquartered in New York City with its administrative offices in the Interchurch Center. Founded as a professional educat ...

Early life and death

Kettering was born in

Savannah, Ohio Savannah is a village in Ashland County, Ohio, United States. The population was 413 at the 2010 census. History Savannah was laid out in 1818. A post office called Savannah has been in operation since 1839. Geography Savannah is located at ...

on April 4, 1906. She became an orphan at the age of three and was adopted by Adam and Cora Kettering in

Ashland, Ohio Ashland is a city in and the county seat of Ashland County, Ohio, United States, 66 miles southwest of Cleveland and 82 miles northeast of Columbus. The population was 20,362 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Ashland Micropolitan Stat ...

. Adam Kettering was a car dealer and was the brother of inventor

Charles F. Kettering Charles Franklin Kettering (August 29, 1876 – November 25, 1958) sometimes known as Charles Fredrick Kettering was an American inventor, engineer, businessman, and the holder of 186 patents. For the list of patents issued to Kettering, see, Le ...

. She started composing music at age six. Kettering died in Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 9, 2000, at the age of 93.

Education

Kettering attended the

Oberlin Conservatory of Music The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of ...

, from which she received a Bachelor of Music degree in 1929. In 1931, she studied composition privately under

Norman Lockwood Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

Felix Labunski Felix Labunski (27 December 1892 – 28 April 1979) was a Polish-born French-American composer. Labunski attended Warsaw Conservatory where he studied with Witold Maliszewski. He then became a pupil of Nadia Boulanger and Paul Dukas at th ...

Edwin J. Stringham The name Edwin means "rich friend". It comes from the Old English elements "ead" (rich, blessed) and "ƿine" (friend). The original Anglo-Saxon form is Eadƿine, which is also found for Anglo-Saxon figures. People * Edwin of Northumbria (die ...

, and

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hun ...

. She later received a master of sacred music from the School of Sacred Music of the Union Theological Seminary in 1933.

Career

Kettering was a professor at

Madison University Madison University is a non-accredited distance learning college located in Gulfport, Mississippi. The state of Mississippi considers Madison an "unapproved" college. Madison is also listed as an unaccredited and/or substandard institution by f ...

in Virginia for three years and then taught music for 23 years at

Ashland University Ashland University is a private university in Ashland, Ohio. The university consists of a main campus and several off-campus centers throughout central and northern Ohio. Ashland was founded in 1878 as Ashland College. It is affiliated with T ...

in Ohio. During her time at Ashland University, she composed and performed many of her works. After retiring early from teaching, she moved to

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label= Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name “S ...

in 1959 and then later moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1962. While in Albuquerque, she composed the majority of her work and two of her compositions were recorded. Her compositions were performed in colleges, churches, universities, and on radio stations. Almost 20,000 copies of her work were published. She was a part of the National Association of American Composers and Conductors,

Pi Kappa Lambda Pi Kappa Lambda () is an American honor society for undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors of music. There are over 270 chapters nationally; a complete roster of current chapters is listed in the organization's official web ...

, and the National Federation of Music Clubs.

Awards

The National Federation of Music Clubs awarded her first place in 1943 for her choral-orchestral composition ''Johnny Appleseed'' based on a

Vachel Lindsay Nicholas Vachel Lindsay (; November 10, 1879 – December 5, 1931) was an American poet. He is considered a founder of modern ''singing poetry,'' as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted. Early years Lindsay was bor ...

poem, a special individual award of merit in 1968, and a merit award for outstanding service to other composers in 1970. She later received first place in multiple categories by the National League of American Pen Women for secular choral compositions, piano compositions, and vocal solo-art song in 1972. In 1958, the

Junior Music Club was changed to the Eunice Lettering Music Club. In 1961, she won first place from the Annual Institute for Education by Radio and Television. She was the first woman to become a Fellow in the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ketterling, Eunice Lea 1906 births 2000 deaths People from Ashland County, Ohio Oberlin Conservatory of Music alumni American women composers Ashland University faculty 20th-century American women 20th-century American people American women academics