Elise Fellows White facts for kids

Mary Elise Fellows White (born November 14, 1873 – died March 22, 1953) was a talented American woman. She was an author, a composer who wrote music, and a violinist who played the violin.

Early Life and Musical Journey

Elise White was born in Skowhegan, Maine. She was the only child of Frank and Deborah Swan Fellows. Her father played the violin and was Elise's very first violin teacher.

When Elise was 10 years old, she and her mother moved to Boston. This move allowed Elise to study music at the famous New England Conservatory of Music. There, she learned from many great teachers, including Timothee Adamowski and Franz Kneisel.

Elise continued her music studies even further away! She went to Vienna, Austria, to learn from Jacob Grun and Max Lewinger. She also attended Colby College from 1897 to 1889, where she studied with Eugen Gruenberg.

Performing as a Violinist

While studying in Vienna, Elise gave several musical performances called recitals. She made her first big performance in Boston with the Cecilia Society. She also performed in New York City at the grand Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Elise was a violinist in the New York Women's Symphony Orchestra. From 1895 to 1896, she traveled and played her violin across the northern United States and southern Canada. She was part of a group called the McKenzie Tour Company trio. The trio included singer Rebecca McKenzie, pianist Bertha O'Reilly, and Elise on violin.

Family Life

During her tour, Elise met Bruce M. White, who owned and developed mines. They got married in 1898. They had two sons: Bruce Jr., born in 1900, and James, born in 1907.

The family lived in British Columbia, Canada, for a while. Around 1908, Elise moved back to Skowhegan, Maine, with her two boys. Bruce continued to support them financially. Sadly, he passed away during the 1918 flu epidemic.

After her sons grew up, Elise and her mother lived in different towns in Maine. These included Skowhegan, Boston, Topsham, Brunswick, and Portland. Her mother passed away in 1934.

Elise White's Creative Work

Elise White supported herself by writing, playing her violin, and teaching music. In 1937, a record company called Schirmer Records recorded Elise playing seven pieces for violin and piano. She made more recordings for Schirmer in 1942.

Writing and Journalism

While living in New York, Elise worked for the American Association of University Women. She helped out at their booth during the 1939 World's Fair. She also wrote articles about the Fair for her hometown newspaper, the Skowhegan Independent Reporter.

Elise also wrote a chapter called "History of Music in Old Bloomfield" for a book about Skowhegan. She wrote articles for many different magazines and newspapers, such as Chicago Music News and Music Quarterly.

Her articles included:

• College Jazz and What it Symbolizes (in Musical Observer)
• Music Versus Materialism (in Musical Quarterly in 1922)

Elise also wrote poems, such as:

• Concert (a type of poem called a Sonnet)
• Fifth Symphony (another Sonnet)
• In Memoriam

Meeting Famous People

Elise White met several well-known people during her life. She met the famous composer Johannes Brahms while studying in Vienna in the 1890s.

She also wrote in her diary about seeing Charles Lindbergh in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, on July 25, 1927. This was only two months after his amazing solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean!

Artist Zaidee Lincoln Morrison, who was also from Skowhegan, was one of Elise's closest friends. Elise also wrote letters to Australian composer Percy Grainger. They talked about American folk life and folk music.

In 1938, Elise White wrote her own life story, called an autobiography. She said she wanted her book to be about the "surroundings and scenery of the journey" rather than just her problems. She was grateful for all the opportunities and good memories she had.

Musical Compositions

Elise White wrote many pieces of music.

Music for Violin and Piano or Organ

• Angelus (written in 1912)
• Bluebird (written in 1914)
• Etude Caprice (written in 1922)
• Fairy Tale
• Fantasia Esplanada
• Prelude in G (written in 1923)

Songs for Voices

• A Sigh
• After Long Years
• As Rivers Seek the Sea
• For Remembrance (with violin; written in 1910)
• In the Silence
• Madrigal (for singers, piano, and violin; written in 1927)
• My Love is Come
• Out of the Night
• Sargent Industrial School Song
• Song of the Dawn (with words by Christina Georgina Rossetti)
• Song of the Sea
• Song to Maine
• Spring Song (with violin; words by E. F. White; written in 1916)
• Twilight