Ethel Atwood (September 12, 1870 – April 9, 1948) was an American musician and orchestra leader. With Caroline B. Nichols, she established the Fadette Ladies' Orchestra.
Ethel Atwood | |
|---|---|
 Ethel Atwood (ca. 1893) | |
| Background information | |
| Born | September 12, 1870 Fairfield, Maine, United States |
| Died | April 9, 1948 Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Instrumentalist |
| Instrument | Violin |
Biography
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Born in Fairfield, Maine in 1870, her parents were Yankees. After spending the first 15 years of Atwood's life in Fairfield, she moved to Boston. Atwood began the study of the violin when eight years old.[1]
Atwood and Caroline B. Nichols organized the Fadette Ladies' Orchestra,[1] with four pieces. Atwood immediately had the name of her orchestra copyrighted and, renting an office, she put out her "shingle". Finding that prompting was essential to success in dance work, she went to one of Boston's best prompters and learned the business thoroughly. An elocutionist taught her to use her voice to the best advantage. She then became the only lady prompter in the U.S. Business increased rapidly in the next few years, growing the regular members of the orchestra to 13 young women.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b Mitchell 2014, p. 26.
- ^ Willard 1893, p. 34.
Attribution
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Willard, Frances Elizabeth (1893). A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life (Public domain ed.). Moulton. p. 34.
Bibliography
edit- Mitchell, Jon Ceander (10 December 2014). Trans-Atlantic Passages: Philip Hale on the Boston Symphony Orchestra, 1889–1933. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-44444-8.