Mary Elizabeth Turner Salter facts for kids

Mary Elizabeth Turner Salter (born March 15, 1856 – died September 12, 1938) was an American soprano and composer. A soprano is a singer with a high voice. A composer is someone who writes music. She was born in Peoria, Illinois. Her parents were Jonathan and Mary E. Hinds Turner.

Mary went to Burlington High School in Burlington, Iowa. She also studied at the Boston College of Music. After her schooling, she became a voice teacher at Wellesley College. She also sang and performed in churches. In 1881, she married Sumner Salter. She passed away in Orangeburg, New York. Mary Salter was a very important person. She was one of the people who helped create the American Society of Women Composers. This group helped support women who wrote music.

Her Musical Works

Mary Elizabeth Turner Salter wrote about 130 songs during her life. Here are some of her well-known pieces:

• The Cry of Rachel
• Song of April
• A Der Schmetterling (from Three German Songs)
• Love's Epitome (a group of five songs)
• Foreign Lands (with words by Robert Louis Stevenson)
• Life (from Five Songs) (with words by Paul Laurence Dunbar)
• The High Song
• Wandrers Nachtlied