Ida Geer Weller Explained
Ida Geer Weller (1881-1944) was an American concert singer and clubwoman.
Early life
Ida Geer was from Beaver, Pennsylvania.[1]
Career
Ida Geer Weller was a mezzo-contralto. Her voice was described as being "of great range and flexibility, large in natural volume, but leading itself easily to lighter work."[2] She started performing in Pittsburgh as a concert singer, and as president of the South Hills Choral Club.[3] During World War I she substituted for a Pittsburgh church soloist who was called into military service; she was also a soloist at the city's YMCA celebration of the Fourth of July in 1918.[4]
In New York, Weller performed concerts for radio.[5] [6] "I believe radio will have a marked effect on the people of tomorrow," she explained in a 1922 interview, "the children of today."[7] She also wrote about music in essays such as "Music Aids His Return to Health" (1920)[8] and "Songs Reflect Colors" (1921), in which she describes how a recital program is best assembled.[9]
Weller was also interested in psychology. She gave an address on "The Psychology of Americanization" to the Psychology Club in Nashville, Tennessee,[10] while she was in that city to perform.[11] She also appeared as "guest of honor" of the Rotary Club in Nashville during her visit.[12] In 1928 she was a leader of the New York chapters of Women of Mooseheart Legion, a women's auxiliary of the Loyal Order of Moose.[13] [14]
Later years in Beaver
She moved back to her hometown in Pennsylvania in 1934; that year, she started a "morning musicale" club in Beaver.[15] In the late 1930s, she chaired an annual juried art exhibit in Beaver, and raised money for arts education.[16] [17] In 1938 she was director of the Music and Art Center of Beaver County.[18] She died in 1944, in her early sixties.
External links
Notes and References
- https://books.google.com/books?id=N3NFAQAAMAAJ&dq=Ida+Geer+Weller&pg=PA413 "Ida Geer Weller, an Appreciation"
- https://books.google.com/books?id=6GhFAQAAMAAJ&dq=Ida+Geer+Weller&pg=RA6-PA21 "Ida Geer Weller"
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20607306/ida_geer_weller_1918/ "Mrs. Weller's Recital"
- https://books.google.com/books?id=qUc0AQAAMAAJ&dq=Ida+Geer+Weller+married&pg=RA13-PA34 "Pittsburgh, Pa."
- https://books.google.com/books?id=6GhFAQAAMAAJ&dq=Ida+Geer+Weller&pg=RA6-PA30 "Ida Geer Weller Sings for Radio"
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20609294/ida_geer_weller_1926/ "Mother's Day on the Radio"
- Claire Burquo, "An Interview with Ida Geer Weller" Wireless Age (October 1922): 31.
- Ida Geer Weller, "Music Aids His Return to Health" Wisconsin State Journal (November 21, 1920): 14. via Newspapers.com
- Ida Geer Weller, "Songs Reflect Colors" Musical Monitor (April 1921): 322.
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20606570/ida_geer_weller_1923/ "Americans Not Awake to Status, Says Singer"
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20608694/ida_geer_weller_1923/ "Miss Ida Weller Scores Triumph"
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20607101/ida_geer_weller_1923/ "Ida Geer Weller to Sing for Rotarians"
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20606256/ida_geer_weller_1928/ "Attend Mooseheart Banquet in New York"
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20608658/ida_geer_weller_1928/ "Visits Legion"
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20605973/ida_geer_weller_1934/ "Beaver Initiates Morning Musicale"
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20608798/ida_geer_weller_1936/ "'Home Talent' Art Exhibit is Held in Beaver County"
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20608890/ida_geer_weller_1938/ "Beaver Group to Open Pennsylvania's First County Art Show with Jury Dinner March 12"
- https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SEsyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=p68FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1318%2C435927 "Valley Audience Enjoys 'Little Men'"
