Caroline Holme Walker facts for kids

Caroline Holme Walker (born June 14, 1863 – died January 19, 1955) was an amazing American musician. She was a composer, a pianist, and a teacher. What made her special was her ability to listen to bird songs and write them down as musical notes! She was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

Early Life and Musical Journey

Caroline Walker started her music studies in St. Louis. She learned from talented teachers like Anna Strothotte, James North, and Robert Goldbeck. Later, she moved to Denver, Colorado, and continued her studies with Linda Ostrander.

In 1885, she married John M. Walker. They had a daughter named Elizabeth. They later divorced in 1911.

A Pioneer in Music

Caroline Walker was a very active part of the music community in Denver. She helped start the Tuesday Musical Club, which was a group for musicians. She also taught music at the Wolcott Conservatory. She had her own private music studio too, where she taught students.

One of her most interesting achievements was writing about bird songs. In 1907, she wrote an article called "Bird Songs from the Musician's Point of View." It was published in a magazine called Country Life in America. In this article, she explained how she wrote down the songs of 31 different meadowlarks using musical notes. Imagine being able to hear a bird sing and then play its song on a piano!

She even used bird songs in her own music. Her composition Thrush Song was directly inspired by the song of the veery thrush. In 1927, she gave a talk at the Denver Library about how music and poetry are connected.

Published Music

Caroline Walker's music was published by several well-known music companies. These included B. F. Wood Music Company, G. Schirmer Inc., Theodore Presser Company, and Wa-Wan Press.

Here are some of the songs she published:

• "Battle of Life" (with words by Nancy B. Turner)
• "Good Night"
• "Lonely Garden"
• "May Madrigal" (with words by Frank Dempster Sherman)
• "Plainsman's Song"
• "Thrush Song" (with words by S. Stephens, based on the veery thrush)
• "To a Letter" (with words by S. Stephens)
• "When the Dew is Falling" (with words by Fiona Macleod)
• "Your Kiss" (with words by Gouverneur Morris)