Iva Bigelow Weaver Explained

Iva Bigelow Weaver
Birth Name:	Iva Bigelow
Birth Date:	8 October 1875
Death Place:	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Nationality:	American
Occupation:	singer, clubwoman, music educator

Iva Bigelow Weaver (October 8, 1875 — October 4, 1932) was an American soprano in oratorios and recitals, clubwoman, and music educator based in Chicago and Milwaukee.

Early life

Iva Bigelow was from Palmyra, Wisconsin, the daughter of Harry Bigelow and Lenore Stacey Bigelow. Her father died when Iva was a girl; her mother remarried to Arthur J. Thorne in 1889.^[1] She attended the Lawrence Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin in 1894 and 1895, with further training in Chicago and in Europe.^{[2] [3]} Her younger brother, Oromel H. Bigelow (1881-1966),^[4] became a mathematics professor at Whitewater State College, and the Bigelow Residence Hall on the Whitewater campus was named for him.^[5]

Career

Weaver was a soprano soloist in oratorio and recital events, most often in the Midwestern and Plains states,^{[6] [7]} but she sang in Los Angeles in 1915,^[8] and in New York City and on radio in 1926.^[9] She was also a regular soloist at the Evanston Methodist Episcopal Church.^[10] She also sang in a quartet on the Chautauqua circuit in 1912.^[11] "She not only sings well technically, but has that poetry and warmth which so many excellent musicians lack", commented one reporter in 1914. "Her voice is powerful, particularly sweet in the upper register and of splendid volume."^[12]

She was the Milwaukee correspondent for the weekly magazine Music News,^[13] and was active in the Musicians' Club of Women, a Chicago-based organization.^{[14] [15]} She ran teaching studios in both Chicago and Milwaukee simultaneously.^{[16] [17] [18]} She was a judge for Wisconsin in contests sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs in 1917.^[19]

Personal life

Iva Bigelow Weaver died after having surgery in 1932, in Milwaukee, just before her 57th birthday.^[20] Her gravesite is in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.^[21] After her death, a music club in Marshfield, Wisconsin was named in her memory.^[22] The Iva Bigelow Weaver Junior Music Club of Marshfield lasted from the 1930s into the 1970s.^{[23] [24]}

Notes and References

1. https://newspaperarchive.com/obituary-clipping-aug-26-1928-1084064/ "A. J. Thorne, Well Known Educator, Taken by Death"
2. https://lux.lawrence.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2459&context=lawrentian "Mrs. Bigelow Leaves Bequest; Former Conservatory Student Gives $500 For Use in Musical Work"
3. https://books.google.com/books?id=iKxGAQAAMAAJ&q=Weaver&pg=RA1-PA84 "Iva Bigelow Weaver"
4. https://newspaperarchive.com/entertainment-clipping-oct-06-1932-1084030/ "Whitewater"
5. Richard Carleton Haney, Campus cornerstones, University of Wisconsin--Whitewater : biographical sketches of the people for whom buildings & facilities are named (1997).
6. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29369736/iva_bigelow_weaver_1914/ "Gary Choral Society Concert"
7. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29370148/iva_bigelow_weaver_1915/ "To Sing 'Messiah'"
8. "Visitor from Milwaukee" Los Angeles Times (August 14, 1915): 18. via Newspapers.com
9. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29369807/iva_bigelow_weaver_1926/ "Well Known Vocal Teacher Returns from New York City"
10. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29369632/iva_bigelow_weaver_1925/ "Chicago Singer Here"
11. https://books.google.com/books?id=iKxGAQAAMAAJ&q=Weaver&pg=RA4-PA16 "Iva Bigelow Weaver"
12. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29369941/iva_bigelow_weaver_1914/ "Musical Club Chorus Pleases"
13. https://books.google.com/books?id=_WdFAQAAMAAJ&dq=Iva+Bigelow+Weaver&pg=RA5-PA36 "List of Correspondents"
14. Agnes Beldon, "Musicians' Club of Women" Music News (February 4, 1921): 13.
15. https://books.google.com/books?id=_WdFAQAAMAAJ&dq=Iva+Bigelow+Weaver&pg=RA2-PA26 "Musicians' Club of Women"
16. https://books.google.com/books?id=xnZFAQAAMAAJ&dq=Iva+Bigelow&pg=RA1-PA68 "Iva Bigelow-Weaver"
17. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29369453/iva_b_weaver_1925/ "Mrs. Iva B. Weaver Studio Again Open"
18. https://books.google.com/books?id=bmhFAQAAMAAJ&dq=Iva+Bigelow+Weaver&pg=PP25 "Iva Bigelow Weaver"
19. https://books.google.com/books?id=G3NFAQAAMAAJ&dq=Milwaukee+Iva+B.+Weaver&pg=PA451 "District Winners and Judges"
20. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29370326/iva_bigelow_weaver_1932/ "Trust Fund Left to Lawrence for Music"
21. https://www.linkstothepast.com/waukesha/32.php Melendy's Prairie Cemetery
22. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29369344/iva_bigelow_weaver_1936/ "Iva Bigelow Weaver Club Meets Monday"
23. https://newspaperarchive.com/entertainment-clipping-mar-25-1965-1084424/ "Music Fest for Junior Club Members"
24. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29391758/iva_bigelow_weaver_junior_music_club/ "Junior Music Festival is Held Saturday, Winners Are Named"