Roberta Geddes-Harvey facts for kids
Anne Catherine Roberta Geddes-Harvey (born December 25, 1849 – died April 22, 1930) was a talented Canadian musician. She was an amazing organist, a leader for choirs (called a choirmaster), and a composer who wrote her own music.
Early Life and Learning Music
Roberta Geddes was born in a city called Hamilton, in Ontario, Canada. She loved music from a young age and studied with several great teachers. Some of her teachers included Arthur E. Fisher, Humfrey Anger, and Edward Fisher. She worked very hard and earned a special music degree, a Bachelor of Music, from Trinity College in Toronto in 1899.
Her Music Career
After finishing her studies, Roberta Geddes-Harvey began her career as an organist in Hamilton. An organist is someone who plays the organ, a very large musical instrument often found in churches.
In 1876, she moved to Guelph, another city in Ontario. There, she became the choirmaster and organist at St. George's Anglican Church. This was a very important job, as she was in charge of leading the church choir and playing the organ for services. She was so dedicated that she stayed in this position for more than fifty years! That's a very long time to do one job, showing how much she loved music and her church. Roberta Geddes-Harvey passed away in Guelph, Ontario, in 1930.
Her Musical Creations
Roberta Geddes-Harvey wrote many different kinds of music throughout her life. She composed:
- Hymns: These are songs often sung in church.
- Anthems: These are special songs usually sung by a choir.
- Songs: Music meant for a single singer.
- Instrumental works: Music written for instruments, not voices.
Her music was published and copyrighted between 1897 and 1919. Some of her well-known pieces include:
- La Terre Bonne (which means "The Land of the Maple Leaf"), a musical play with words by A. Klugh. Most of this work is now lost.
- The Old Boys Welcome, which is the only song still existing from La Terre Bonne.
- Salvator, a large musical work for choir and orchestra called an oratorio, which used words from the Bible.
