May Louise Cooper Spindle (January 1, 1885 - October 1968) was an American composer and teacher who wrote many pedagogical pieces for piano. Spindle was born in

Muskegon Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expan ...

, Michigan, to Rosina H. Winters and Charles Bicknell Cooper. She married Lee Addison Spindle in 1911. Spindle began music lessons with her mother and later attended the

Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicago Academy of Music. The institution h ...

. Her teachers included

Felix Borowski Felix Borowski (March 10, 1872 – September 6, 1956) was a British/American composer and teacher. He taught composers Silvestre Revueltas and Louise Cooper Spindle at Chicago Musical College. Life and career Felix Borowski was of Polish des ...

, Glen Dillard, Laurence Powell, Hans von Schiller, Charles Vogan, and Max Wald. She socialized with composer

Eleanor Everest Freer Eleanor Everest Freer (14 May 1864 – 13 Dec 1942) was an American composer and philanthropist. Life Eleanor Everest was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of Cornelius Everest and Ellen Amelia (Clark) Everest, and studied singing in Paris with ...

. Spindle belonged to the American Society of Composers, Author, and Publishers (ASCAP), the Michigan Composers Club, and the

Music Teachers National Association Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) is an American nonprofit professional organization for the support, growth, and development of music-teaching professionals, with more than 17,000 members in 50 states, and more than 500 affiliated loc ...

. In 1937, she was the Grand Rapids winner of the Michigan State Composers Contest. She taught at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Spindle's music was published by Bach Music Co./Harry Dellafield, Forster Music Publisher Inc., and

Mills Music Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 16, 1894 – April 21, 1985) was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz artist promoter. He sometimes used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal Mills was ...

. In addition to pedagogical pieces for piano, her compositions included:

Chamber

*''Caprice Espagnole'' (violin and piano)

Orchestra

*Southlands Suite

Organ

*''Prelude of Spring''

Piano

*''Bouncy Balls'' *''Holiday in Naples'' *''Parade of the Bunnies'' *''Ping Pong'' *''Somersaults Rndoletto: Study in Crossing Hands and Staccato'' *''Swaying Pussywillows''

Vocal

*“April Wind” *“Christmas Roundelay” *''City Eternal'' (cantata) *“God’s Gift Supreme” *''Moon Magic'' (arranged for 2 or 3-part chorus) *''My Dream Ship'' (arranged for 2, 3, or 4-part chorus) *''Pickaninny Song'' (text by Helen Von Kolnitz Hyer; arranged for 2 or 3-part chorus) (E)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spindle, Louise Cooper American women composers 1885 births 1968 deaths Chicago Musical College alumni ASCAP Columbia University faculty