Amy Allison Grant Explained

Amy Allison Grant
Birth Date:1880
Birth Place:Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation:Singer, dramatic reader

Amy Allison Grant (born 1880, died after 1930) was an early 20th century American performer, particularly of recitations of poetry and operas, with musical accompaniment.

Early life and education

Grant was born in Chicago, the daughter of Samuel Veall Grant and Dorcas Emma Hill Grant. She trained as a singer with David Ffrangcon-Davies.[1] She graduated from the Stanhope Wheatcroft Dramatic School in 1898, and from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1908.[2] She also studied at the University of Chicago, the Chicago Musical College, and the University of Oxford.[3]

Career

Grant performed dramatic recitations of poetry with musical accompaniment.[4] Her signature piece was Tennyson's Enoch Arden, with music by Richard Strauss.[5] She translated, abridged or otherwise arranged her own adaptations of opera libretti.[6] [7] She gave recitals at her studio on West 55th Street in New York,[8] [9] in private homes,[10] at the Hartford Golf Club,[11] [12] and at New York's Aeolian Hall[13] and Plaza Hotel,[14] [15] with programming that followed the Metropolitan Opera and Chicago Opera offerings. Her performances were described as preparing her audiences to better enjoy a night at the opera, with an understanding of the story and music. She also taught voice students,[16] and performed in Florida during winters in the 1920s.[17]

In 1909 Grant hosted a benefit concert for the William Lloyd Garrison Equal Rights Association, a women's suffrage organization, at her New York studio.[18] During World War I, she gave a series of benefits for the American Red Cross.[15] In 1924, she gave a benefit recital for a new Episcopal church building in Palm Beach, Florida. She was a member of the Authors League, and associate editor of The Musical Monitor.[19]

Reception

"Mrs. Grant has a fine presence," commented one newspaper reviewer in 1902. "She is graceful, natural, and with more experience will become a successful interpretator."[20] She had that added experience in 1914, when another reviewer wrote that Grant "did not allow herself to be led into any unbalanced display of emotion and at all times spoke clearly and with sincerity." Grant "has a remarkable voice and a powerful stage presence," noted a Rhode Island newspaper after her 1917 performance of Salome.[21]

Publications

Notes and References

  1. Book: Who's Who in America . 1923 . 1303. A.N. Marquis . en.
  2. Teachers College, Columbia University, Class Book (1906 yearbook); via Internet Archive
  3. Book: A Thousand American Men of Mark To-day . 1917 . 253. American men of mark . en.
  4. Wilson Kimber . Marian . 2020 . Reciting Parsifal: Opera as Spoken-Word Performance in America . American Music . 38 . 1 . 4–28 . 10.5406/americanmusic.38.1.0004 . 10.5406/americanmusic.38.1.0004 . 216489539 . 0734-4392.
  5. News: 1902-11-08 . 'Enoch Arden', by Mrs. Grant . 5 . The Montclair Times . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  6. News: 1909-09-22 . Mrs. Grant to Aid Cosmovilla; Her Musical Reading in South Orange Will Be from 'Electra' . 7 . Newark Star-Eagle . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  7. News: 1916-04-27 . To Give Opera Readings . 9 . The Pittsburgh Post . 2023-12-19.
  8. News: 1909-10-18 . Miss Amy Grant Reads 'Elektra' . 6 . The Standard Union . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  9. News: 1910-01-16 . Studio Notes . 44 . New-York Tribune . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  10. News: August 5, 1916 . Summer Visitors . 6 . Bar Harbor Times . December 19, 2023 . NewspaperArchive.com.
  11. News: 1914-06-01 . Miss Amy Grant in Opera Recital . 5 . Hartford Courant . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  12. News: 1914-06-04 . Miss Amy Grant in Opera Recital . 7 . Hartford Courant . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  13. News: 1922-04-16 . Concert Calendar . 42 . New York Herald . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  14. News: 1924-03-21 . Bethesda Guild Meeting . 10 . The Palm Beach Post . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  15. News: 1917-04-22 . Music Teachers and Pupils . 25 . The Sun . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  16. April 13, 1922 . Amy Grant's Recitals and Pupils . The Musical Courier . 84 . 15 . 54 . Internet Archive.
  17. News: 1924-03-15 . Miss Amy Grant Arrives . 12 . The Palm Beach Post . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  18. News: 1909-05-02 . Studio Notes . 57 . New-York Tribune . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  19. News: Mason . Alice . 1924-02-24 . Music . 8 . The Miami Herald . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  20. News: 1902-11-15 . Tennyson-Strauss; Mrs. Grant's Interpretation of Enoch Arden . 5 . The Montclair Times . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  21. News: 1917-10-05 . 'Salome': Dramatic Recital of the Text by Miss Amy Grant at Art Association . 8 . Newport Mercury . 2023-12-19 . Newspapers.com.
  22. Grant . Amy . November 1923 . The Institute of Politics at Williamstown . The Musical Monitor . 14 . 1 . 13, 27.
  23. Grant . Amy . December 1923 . Early Opera in Germany . The Musical Monitor . 14 . 2 . 13, 24.
  24. Grant . Amy . January 1924 . The Opera Singer of the Eighteenth Century . The Musical Monitor . 14 . 3 . 13.
  25. Grant . Amy . February 1924 . George Frederick Handel . The Musical Monitor . 14 . 4 . 11, 25.
  26. Grant . Amy . March 1924 . Roland Hinton Perry, Sculptor and Painter . The Musical Monitor . 14 . 5 . 10, 25.
  27. Grant . Amy . April 1924 . Christoph Willibald Gluck . The Musical Monitor . 14 . 6 . 9.

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