Iva Bigelow Weaver (October 8, 1875 — October 4, 1932) was an American soprano singer in oratorios and recitals,

clubwoman The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a part ...

, and music educator based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Early life

Iva Bigelow was from

Palmyra, Wisconsin Palmyra is a village in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Scuppernong River. It was named after the desert oasis city of Palmyra, Syria, due to its dry, sandy soil. The population was 1,719 at the 2020 census. The village is ...

, the daughter of Harry Bigelow and Lenore Stacey Bigelow. Her father died when Iva was a girl; her mother remarried to Arthur J. Thorne in 1889. She attended the Lawrence Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin in 1894 and 1895, with further training in Chicago and in Europe. Her younger brother, Oromel H. Bigelow (1881-1966),"Whitewater"
''Janesville Daily Gazette'' (October 6, 1932): 9. via

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became a mathematics professor at Whitewater State College, and the Bigelow Residence Hall on the Whitewater campus was named for him.

Career

Weaver was a soprano soloist in oratorio and recital events, most often in the Midwestern and Plains states, but she sang in Los Angeles in 1915, and in New York City and on radio in 1926. She was also a regular soloist at the Evanston Methodist Episcopal Church. She also sang in a quartet on the Chautauqua circuit in 1912. "She not only sings well technically, but has that poetry and warmth which so many excellent musicians lack", commented one reporter in 1914. "Her voice is powerful, particularly sweet in the upper register and of splendid volume." She was the Milwaukee correspondent for the weekly magazine ''Music News'', and was active in the Musicians' Club of Women, a Chicago-based organization. She ran teaching studios in both Chicago and Milwaukee simultaneously. She was a judge for Wisconsin in contests sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs in 1917.

Personal life

Iva Bigelow Weaver died after having surgery in 1932, in Milwaukee, just before her 57th birthday. Her gravesite is in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. After her death, a music club in Marshfield, Wisconsin was named in her memory. The Iva Bigelow Weaver Junior Music Club of Marshfield lasted from the 1930s into the 1970s."Junior Music Festival is Held Saturday, Winners Are Named"
''Marshfield News-Herald'' (March 29, 1971): 13. via Newspapers.com

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Iva Bigelow 1875 births 1932 deaths American women singers American music educators Clubwomen Singers from Wisconsin People from Palmyra, Wisconsin American sopranos Burials in Wisconsin