Mildred Lund Tyson (10 March 1895 – 25 September 1989) was an American choral director, composer, organist, and soprano.

Biography

Tyson was born in

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline, Illinois, East M ...

, to Mary Helena Anderson and Oscar Fredrick Lund. She married Harold Canfield Tyson in 1927 and they had a daughter, Barbara, in 1930. Tyson earned a B.M. at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, where she studied with Carl Beecher, Arne Oldberg, and Walter Allen Stults. She later studied composition 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 ...

, the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

, and at a summer course at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

. She studied voice with Edward Meyer in Los Angeles and Frederick Bristol in New York City. From 1930 to 1934, Tyson taught piano and voice at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became ...

in Claremont, California. From 1935 to 1940 she was a soprano soloist at St. Thomas Episcopal Church Complex in Mamaroneck, New York. From 1948 to 1982, she was the organist and choir director at the First Congregational Church in Sidney, New York. Tyson belonged to the

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

(ASCAP). Her music was published by G. Schirmer Inc.

Compositions

Her vocal compositions include: *"Great Divide" (voice and piano; text by Lew Sarett) *"Keep Loving Me, Dear" (soprano or women's chorus and piano; text by Lillian Hanan Jackson) *"Like Barley Bending" (soprano or women's chorus and piano; text by

Sara Teasdale Sara Teasdale (August 8, 1884January 29, 1933) was an American lyric poet. She was born Sarah Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and used the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger after her marriage in 1914. In 1918 she won a Pulitzer Prize for her ...

) *"Lilacs are in Bloom" (soprano or women's chorus and piano; text by George Moore) *"May in Japan" (women's chorus and piano) *"(The) Moon's a Hoop" (voice and piano; text by

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 born ...

) *"New York, Great Empire State" (voice and piano) *"Noon and Night" (voice and piano; text by

Herbert Trench Frederic Herbert Trench (12 November 1865 – 11 June 1923) was an Irish poet. Life Trench was born in Avonmore, County Cork, and educated at Haileybury and Keble College, Oxford. From 1891 he worked as an examiner for the Board of Education ...

) *"One Little Cloud" (voice or women's chorus and piano) *"Prosperity" (voice and piano; text by Nan Roads) *"Reaching for the Moon" (voice and piano) *"Sea Moods" (voice or chorus and piano; text Kenneth G. Benham) *"Will Spring Be Far Behind?" (voice and piano)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson, Mildred Lund American composers American women composers 1895 births 1989 deaths 20th-century women Columbia University alumni Eastman School of Music alumni Ithaca College people Pomona College faculty ASCAP composers and authors