Gladys Pitcher (1890 – 1996) was an American music editor, teacher, and composer.

Biography

Pitcher was born in

Belfast, Maine Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, Waldo County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city population was 6,938. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River estuary on Belfast Bay (Main ...

in 1890. She attended high school in Belfast and was considered for the ''Boston Globe'' scholarship contest in 1906 and received many votes towards it, including from people who were not from Belfast. She graduated from the

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

and completed postgraduate work in theory, composition, and

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

. Pitcher taught at

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and has ...

and directed music at schools in Bennington, Vermont and Manchester, New Hampshire. She was the music editor for C.C. Birchard Company in Boston before moving back to Belfast, Maine. Her hymns and choral music have been used by schools throughout the United States. Pitcher collaborated on vocal compositions with

J. Lilian Vandevere J. Lillian Vandevere (Jul 1885 – 10 May 1957) was an American author, composer, and music educator. She is best remembered today for her compositions for rhythm band and toy orchestra, and her work on the California State Series textbooks for musi ...

, as well as on music education textbooks with Vandevere and M. Teresa Armitage;

Peter W. Dykema Peter William Dykema (25 November 1873 – 13 May 1951) was an important force in the growth of the National Association for Music Education (initially known as the Music Supervisors National Conference), Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity, and the m ...

, Donald Franklin Main; Hazel Nohavec Morgan; Floy Adele Rossman; Martha Powell Setchell; Herman F Smith; and D K Stevens. She was awarded the second W.A. Diggins Award in 1958.

References

External links

The NATS BulletinGladys Pitcher papers
at the

University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an of ...

American women composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American women musicians Musicians from Maine 1890 births 1996 deaths New England Conservatory alumni Beloit College faculty People from Belfast, Maine American centenarians Women centenarians 20th-century women composers American women academics {{US-composer-19thC-stub