Mabel Wheeler Daniels facts for kids

Mabel Wheeler Daniels (born November 27, 1878, in Swampscott, Massachusetts – died March 10, 1971, in Boston) was an American composer, conductor, and teacher. She went to Radcliffe College and learned from George Whitefield Chadwick. Later, she traveled to Germany to study more with Ludwig Thuille in Munich.

When she came back to the United States, she became the head of the music department at Simmons College. She worked there until 1918. Mabel Daniels kept working for most of her life. She received special honorary degrees from both Boston University and Tufts University. She wrote many pieces for choirs, but also created some operettas and music for orchestras and small groups.

Mabel Daniels' Life Story

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Mabel Wheeler Daniels was born on November 27, 1877, in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Music was a big part of her life from a young age. Her parents were both singers in Boston's famous Handel and Haydn Society. This meant she grew up surrounded by music.

When she was young, Mabel learned to play the piano. By the time she was 10 years old, she was already writing her own songs. She attended Radcliffe College, where she sang soprano, a high singing voice. She was also part of the glee club and played lead roles in several student operettas.

Besides performing, Mabel Daniels kept writing music. She also conducted two student operettas. In 1900, she graduated from Radcliffe with high honors.

Studying Music in Europe

Mabel Daniels studied with George Whitefield Chadwick at the New England Conservatory of Music. Chadwick encouraged her to go to the Munich Conservatory in Germany. He suggested she study with one of his former students, Ludwig Thuille.

When she arrived in Munich, Mabel bravely decided to try out for Bernhard Stavenhagen’s score-reading class. No woman had ever been accepted into this class before. Mabel remembered her audition, which took place in front of 30 men:

"You could have heard a pin drop, the place was so still," she said. "Just as I took my seat before the keyboard, I heard one of the men smother a laugh. That settled it! I was bound to do or die, and with a calmness quite unnatural I played the bars set before me without a mistake. Nobody laughed when I had finished."

Career and Later Achievements

After returning to America, Mabel Daniels learned about new types of choral music with orchestras. She became the director of Radcliffe's Glee Club. She also led the music program at Bradford Academy from 1911 to 1913. From 1913 to 1918, Daniels was appointed head of the music program at Simmons College.

Besides her successful career, Mabel Daniels also created special awards and funds. These helped students who were studying composition at Radcliffe College. In 1933, she received an honorary degree from Tufts University. Later, in 1939, Boston University gave her the same honor.

Mabel Daniels' Musical Works

Famous Compositions

In 1913, Mabel Daniels presented her choral and orchestral piece called “The Desolate City, op.21.” This work was performed at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire. Daniels received a lot of praise for it.

For 24 summers, Daniels returned to the MacDowell Colony. This place inspired her to write one of her most famous pieces, “Deep Forest, op.34, no. 1.” She worked on this piece from 1923 to 1933. “Deep Forest” was later performed at Carnegie Hall in 1939. This piece is known for showing her change from German-style music to a more "impressionistic" sound.

Mabel Daniels also wrote two other pieces especially for Radcliffe College. “Exultate Deo” was for their 50th anniversary. “A Psalm of Praise” was written for their 75th anniversary.

Images for kids

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  Mabel Daniels, from a 1915 publication