Estelle Ricketts Explained

Estelle Ricketts (1871–?) was an American composer.

Personal life

Ricketts lived in Darby, Pennsylvania, which is now a suburb of Philadelphia.^[1] She lived with her mother, her younger brother, and her father, who operated a boarding stable. She was the only one in her family who could read and write.

Career

Estelle Ricketts's 1893 parlor piano piece Rippling Spring Waltz is the earliest known piano solo written by a black woman. Rickets is mentioned in a book entitled "The Work of the Afro-American Woman" written by Gertrude Bustill Mossell. This book highlights the achievements of African-American women in all different disciplines, and was published in 1908.^[2]

References

• Walker-Hill, Helen. "Music by Black Women Composers at the American Music Research Center." American Music Research Center Journal. 2.1 (1992): 23-52.
• Mossell, N. F. "The Work of the Afro-American Woman." Philadelphia: Geo. S. Ferguson Company, 1908.

External links

• Rippling Spring Waltz is included in the Anthology Loud and Clear: A Guide to Levelled Piano Music by Women Composers in the 20th and 21st Centuries https://debrawanlessmusic.com/en-us/products/loud-and-clear?_pos=1&_sid=f0f0268d5&_ss=r

Notes and References

1. Walker-Hill 1992
2. Mossell 1908