Helena Stone Torgerson (1878 – September 9, 1941) was an American harpist and composer of harp music, based in Chicago.
Helena Stone Torgerson | |
|---|---|
 Helena Stone Torgerson, from a 1918 publication | |
| Born | Helena Stone 1878 Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Died | (aged 63) Rapid City, South Dakota |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Harpist, composer |
| Years active | 1896–1941 |
Early life
editHelena Stone was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the daughter of Frank A. Stone and India E. Colestock Stone. Her father was a manufacturer.[1]
Career
editHelena Stone played harp at public events from her teenaged years.[2] In 1899 she replaced Edmund Schuecker as harpist of the Bruno Steindel Concert Company.[3] She was listed among the best-known women harpists in the United States in 1908,[4] and in 1926 Torgerson was described as "Chicago's best woman harpist."[5]
Torgerson performed as a solo harpist and in ensemble,[6] and sometimes played her own compositions.[7] She also gave talks about harp music and the history of the instrument.[8][9] She had a custom-made concert harp, "built on larger scale than is commonly used", for "bigness and resonance of the tone".[10] "Mrs. Torgerson plays the harp in an altogether superior way," commented one writer in 1913, adding that "besides possessing transcendent technic for the instrument, she is a thorough musician and has abundant good taste in interpretation."[11]
Torgerson also taught harp and composed harp music. She studied composition with Adolf Weidig in Chicago.[12] She dedicated her composition "The Squirrel" (1915) to "my little son".[13] Torgerson published Harp Music, a collection of harp pieces organized for teaching purposes.[14]
Personal life
editHelena Stone Torgerson married Lloyd R. Torgerson and had a son, Frank Stone Torgerson.[1] She died from a stroke in 1941, aged 63 years, in Rapid City, South Dakota, while touring.[15][16]
References
edit- ^ a b Fisher, Ernest B. (1918). Grand Rapids and # County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First Settlement to the Present Time. R.O. Law Company. p. 361.
- ^ "Concert at St. James". The Inter Ocean. June 12, 1896. p. 4. Retrieved December 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Treat for Musicians". The Topeka State Journal. May 6, 1899. p. 4. Retrieved December 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The New Vogue of the Harp". The Oregon Daily Journal. May 24, 1908. p. 36. Retrieved December 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Woman Harpist to Give Recital at Club Meeting". Kenosha News. February 2, 1926. p. 4. Retrieved December 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Englewood Sunday Evening Club" Music News (April 5, 1918): 17.
- ^ Williams, Mary Carver (March 19, 1920). "Important Event at the Blackstone". Music News. 12: 35.
- ^ "Harpist Gives Unique Program at Woman's Club". Kenosha News. February 4, 1926. p. 4. Retrieved December 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "History of the Harp". Oak Park Oak Leaves. November 22, 1913. p. 30. Retrieved December 7, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Torgerson at Grand Rapids". Music News: 19. December 12, 1913.
- ^ "Men's Fall Festival Chorus". Music News: 8. November 28, 1913.
- ^ "Recital by Adolf Weidig's Composition Class". Music News. 13: 16c. April 29, 1921.
- ^ Torgerson, Helena Stone (1915). The squirrel. Harp solo . Harold B. Lee Library. [New York, International Music Pub. Co.]
- ^ Torgerson, Helena Stone (1916). Harp music; a digest classified alphabetically and in grades according to degrees of difficulty. Harold B. Lee Library. Chicago, Lyon & Healy.
- ^ "Chicago Woman Succumbs Here". Rapid City Journal. September 10, 1941. p. 2. Retrieved December 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Helena Stone Torgerson". Chicago Tribune. September 12, 1941. p. 18. Retrieved December 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
edit- Helena Stone Torgerson scores at IMSLP Petrucci Music Library
