Grace Adele Freebey (January 25, 1885 – March 30, 1943) was an American pianist, music teacher, and composer, based 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' ...

Early life and education

Freebey was born in

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Cuyahoga Falls ( or ) is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 51,114. The second-largest city in Summit County, it is located directly north of Akron and is a suburb of the Akron metropol ...

, the daughter of Charles Peter Freebey and Joanna Estelle Walsh Freebey. Her mother was born in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In childhood, she moved to Los Angeles with her parents and siblings. She studied piano with A. J. Stamm, Marie von Unschuld, Louis Bachner, and

Ernest Hutcheson Ernest Hutcheson (20 July 1871 – 9 February 1951) was an Australian pianist, composer and teacher. Biography Hutcheson was born in Melbourne, and toured there as a child prodigy at the age of five. He later travelled to Leipzig and entere ...

, and composition with conductor Henry Schoenefeld.

Career

Freebey performed as a concert pianist, and was accompanist for singers

Ernestine Schumann-Heink Ernestine Schumann-Heink (15 June 186117 November 1936) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American operatic dramatic contralto of German Bohemian descent. She was noted for the flexibility and wide range of her voice. Early life She was born Ernest ...

and

Ellen Beach Yaw Ellen Beach Yaw (September 14, 1869 – September 9, 1947) was an American coloratura soprano, best known for her concert career and extraordinary vocal range, and for originating the title role in Arthur Sullivan's ''The Rose of Persia'' ...

, and cellists

May Mukle May Henrietta Mukle FRAM (14 May 1880 – 20 February 1963) was a British cellist and composer. She has been described as a "noted feminist cellist", who encouraged other women cellists. Early life Mukle was born in London, the daughter of Leo ...

and

Alfred Wallenstein Alfred Wallenstein (October 7, 1898 – February 8, 1983) was an American cellist and conductor. A successful solo and orchestral cellist in his early life, Wallenstein took up conducting in the 1930s and served as music director of the Los An ...

. In 1914 she toured in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

with Wallenstein, a child prodigy. She was a member of the Schliewen Trio, with Wallenstein and violinist Richard Schliewen. She was business manager and accompanist of the all-woman Sunny Southland Trio. Freebey taught piano classes at her own studio in Los Angeles, and at the Wilson-Greene School of Music, and as head of the piano department at Martha Washington Seminary in Washington, D.C. Tunes composed by Freebey, including "My Dearest Wish" (1911), "O Golden Sun" (1912), "North Wind", "Wind of the West", "May Day", "Calling You", "Somebody's Coming", "Love's Resignation", "Just You and My Homeland" (1919), "My Golden California" (1924) and "Think of Me Sometimes" (1929), were performed by Schumann-Heink, Tsianina Redfeather,

Jeanne Jomelli Jeanne Jomelli (May 18, 1879 – August 29, 1932) was a Dutch soprano opera singer, concert singer, and music educator. Early life Jeanne Jomelli was born in Amsterdam. She studied voice under Mathilde Marchesi in Paris. Career Jomelli made her ...

Johanna Gadski Johanna Emilia Agnes Gadski (15 June 1870/187222 February 1932) was a German soprano. She was blessed with a secure, powerful, ringing voice, fine musicianship and an excellent technique. These attributes enabled her to enjoy a highly successful ...

David Bispham David Scull Bispham (January 5, 1857 – October 2, 1921) was an American operatic baritone. Biography Bispham was born on January 5, 1857 in Philadelphia, the only child of William Danforth Bispham and Jane Lippincott Scull.W. Bispham, 274 Bo ...

Constance Balfour Constance L. Balfour (born Constance Lell Loucks; 1880 – January 28, 1965) was an American soprano, based in California. Early life Balfour was born in Michigan and lived in Lincoln, Nebraska and in Houston, Texas as a young woman. She studied ...

, the People's Orchestra of Los Angeles, and other popular singers and musical groups.

Personal life

Freebey died at her home in Los Angeles in 1943, at the age of 58. Her grave is in

Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery is a cemetery in Los Angeles at 1831 West Washington Boulevard in the Pico-Union district, southwest of Downtown. It was founded as Rosedale Cemetery in 1884, when Los Angeles had a population of approximately 28,000, ...

References

External links

Sheet music for "O Golden Sun"
by Grace Adele Freebey (1913), from ''IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana'', Indiana University
Sheet music for "May Day"
by Grace Adele Freebey (1909), from the Claremont Colleges Digital Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Freebey, Grace Adele 1885 births 1943 deaths People from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio American women pianists American women composers