Ida Geer Weller

Ida Geer Weller (1881-1944) was an American concert singer and clubwoman.

Ida Geer Weller, from a 1920 publication.

Early life

Ida Geer was from Beaver, Pennsylvania.[1]

Career

Ida Geer Weller was a mezzo-contralto. Her voice was described as being "of great range and flexibility, large in natural volume, but leading itself easily to lighter work."[2] She started performing in Pittsburgh as a concert singer, and as president of the South Hills Choral Club.[3] During World War I she substituted for a Pittsburgh church soloist who was called into military service; she was also a soloist at the city's YMCA celebration of the Fourth of July in 1918.[4]

In New York, Weller performed concerts for radio.[5][6] "I believe radio will have a marked effect on the people of tomorrow," she explained in a 1922 interview, "the children of today."[7] She also wrote about music in essays such as "Music Aids His Return to Health" (1920)[8] and "Songs Reflect Colors" (1921), in which she describes how a recital program is best assembled.[9]

Weller was also interested in psychology. She gave an address on "The Psychology of Americanization" to the Psychology Club in Nashville, Tennessee,[10] while she was in that city to perform.[11] She also appeared as "guest of honor" of the Rotary Club in Nashville during her visit.[12] In 1928 she was a leader of the New York chapters of Women of Mooseheart Legion, a women's auxiliary of the Loyal Order of Moose.[13][14]

Later years in Beaver

She moved back to her hometown in Pennsylvania in 1934; that year, she started a "morning musicale" club in Beaver.[15] In the late 1930s, she chaired an annual juried art exhibit in Beaver, and raised money for arts education.[16][17] In 1938 she was director of the Music and Art Center of Beaver County.[18] She died in 1944, in her early sixties.

References
  1. "Ida Geer Weller, an Appreciation" Musical Monitor (June 1921): 413.
  2. "Ida Geer Weller" Music News (February 17, 1922): 21.
  3. "Mrs. Weller's Recital" Pittsburgh Daily Post (May 19, 1918): 42. via Newspapers.com
  4. "Pittsburgh, Pa." Musical America (August 3, 1918): 34.
  5. "Ida Geer Weller Sings for Radio" Music News (February 17, 1922 ): 30.
  6. "Mother's Day on the Radio" The Times (March 6, 1926): 2. via Newspapers.com
  7. Claire Burquo, "An Interview with Ida Geer Weller" Wireless Age (October 1922): 31.
  8. Ida Geer Weller, "Music Aids His Return to Health" Wisconsin State Journal (November 21, 1920): 14. via Newspapers.com
  9. Ida Geer Weller, "Songs Reflect Colors" Musical Monitor (April 1921): 322.
  10. "Americans Not Awake to Status, Says Singer" The Tennessean (October 31, 1923): 8. via Newspapers.com
  11. "Miss Ida Weller Scores Triumph" The Tennessean (October 3, 1923): 14. via Newspapers.com
  12. "Ida Geer Weller to Sing for Rotarians" The Tennessean (September 25, 1923): 12. via Newspapers.com
  13. "Attend Mooseheart Banquet in New York" Kingston Daily Freeman (March 5, 1928): 2. via Newspapers.com
  14. "Visits Legion" Star-Gazette (May 23, 1928): 25. via Newspapers.com
  15. "Beaver Initiates Morning Musicale" Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (September 21, 1934): 14. via Newspapers.com
  16. "'Home Talent' Art Exhibit is Held in Beaver County" Pittsburgh Press (March 16, 1936): 14. via Newspapers.com
  17. "Beaver Group to Open Pennsylvania's First County Art Show with Jury Dinner March 12" Evening Review (March 4, 1938): 3. via Newspapers.com
  18. "Valley Audience Enjoys 'Little Men'" Daily Times (January 10, 1938): 7.
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