# Clara Ross

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**Clara Louisa Ross Ricci** (1 July 1858 - 1954) was a British composer, [mandolinist](/source/List_of_mandolinists_(sorted)), and singer. She is best known for her compositions for [mandolin](/source/Mandolin) and her songs, which she published as **Clara Ross** or **Clara Ross-Ricci**.[1][2]

Ross was born in [Brighton](/source/Brighton), England, to a well to do family. In 1877 she auditioned before [Sir Arthur Sullivan](/source/Arthur_Sullivan) and received a scholarship to study voice at the [National Training School for Music](/source/National_Training_School_for_Music) in London, where she remained until 1882. She later studied at the [Royal College of Music](/source/Royal_College_of_Music) in London.[2]

Ross learned to play mandolin as it became popular in the late 1880s. She formed an all-female mandolin band called the “Kensington Mandolinists” in the early 1890s and wrote much of their music herself. The group performed for the royal family and was favorably reviewed by *The Musical Standard* in 1892 and 1893, which noted that the “Kensington Mandolinists. . .performed some clever compositions of Miss Clara Ross. . . “ The group included guitars and was later renamed “Miss Clara Ross’ Ladies’ Mandolin and Guitar Band.”[2][3]

In 1895, Ross moved to the United States to marry Richard Atkins Griffin, who had attended the Royal College of Music with her. He was a singer and voice teacher who used the stage name Riccardo Ricci. The couple settled in [Wheeling](/source/Wheeling,_West_Virginia), West Virginia, where Ross gave voice lessons and composed songs. Ricci died in 1905, and Ross remained in Wheeling for several decades, returning to Brighton sometime before World War II.[2][4]

Ross’ music was published by Davis Burkham & Tyler Company, [F. A. Mills](/source/F._A._Mills), F. W. Baumer Company, George White, Huntzinger & Dillworth, John Alvey Turner, [Oliver Ditson](/source/Oliver_Ditson), Phillips & Page, Reid Brothers, [Theodore Presser Company](/source/Theodore_Presser_Company), William Maxwell Music Company, and Williams & Sons.[2][5][6] Her compositions, many arranged several times for different instrumentation, include:

## Compositions

### Mandolin and guitar

- *Air de Ballet[2]*
- *Cabaletta[2]*
- *L’Allegro[2]*
- *L’Ideal[2]*
- *La Gracieuse[2]*
- *Memoires d’Amour[2]*
- *Sancta Maria[2]*
- *Serenade[2]*
- *Sicilienne*[2]

### Mandolin and piano

- *Air de Ballet[1]*
- *Aubade[2]*
- *Cabaletta[2]*
- *Hush[1]*
- *L’Ideal[2]*
- *La Gracieuse[2]*
- *Memoires d’Amour[2]*
- *Narcisse - Romance[2]*
- *Serenade[1]*
- *Sicilienne*[2]

### Vocal and piano

- “A Summer Dream”[2]
- “An Old Sorrow” (text by [Dorothea Moore](/source/Dorothea_Rhodes_Lummis_Moore))[2]
- “Comfort the Soul of Thy Servant” ([Psalm 86](/source/Psalm_86))[2]
- “Each in His Own Name” (text by [William Herbert Carruth](/source/William_Herbert_Carruth))[6]
- *Evening Shadows* (three women’s voices)[2]
- *Four Songs*[2]
- “Fret Not Thyself” ([Psalm 37](/source/Psalm_37))[2]
- “God of Our LIfe”[2]
- “It was a Lover and His Lass”[2]
- “July” (text by Lucy Hayward)[2]
- “June” (text by Amos Phlox)[2]
- “Leaf by Leaf the Roses Fall” (text by [Caroline Dana Howe](/source/Caroline_Dana_Howe))[2]
- “May” (text by Lucy Hayward)[2]
- “Maytime” (three voices)[2]
- “Medieval Romance”[6]
- *Orpheus with His Lute* (three women’s voices; text by [William Shakespeare](/source/William_Shakespeare))[2]
- “Rainy Day” (text by [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](/source/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow))[6]
- “Sancta Maria” (soprano and mandolin or violin)[7]
- “Thou’rt Like a Flower” (text by [Heinrich Heine](/source/Heinrich_Heine))[2]
- *Two Flower Songs*[8]

## References

1. Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). *International Encyclopedia of Women Composers*. Books & Music (USA). p. 601. ISBN 978-0-313-24272-4.

1. Sparks, Paul. ["Biography"](http://www.claraross.co.uk/Bio/index.html). *www.claraross.co.uk*. Retrieved 2024-01-23.

1. annepage2013 (2016-01-11). ["Clara Ross"](https://guitarconsortium.org/2016/01/11/clara-ross/). *The Cambridge Consortium for Guitar Research*. Retrieved 2024-01-23.

1. ["Mandolin guitar"](http://www.claraross.co.uk/Works/Mandolin_guitar/page1.html). *www.claraross.co.uk*. Retrieved 2024-01-23.

1. [*The Musical Herald and Tonic Sol-fa Reporter*](https://books.google.com/books?id=B94qAAAAYAAJ&dq=clara+ross+composer&pg=PA231). 1892.

1. Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1917). [*Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical Compositions. Part 3*](https://books.google.com/books?id=7kshAQAAIAAJ&dq=clara+ross+composer&pg=PA1187). Library of Congress.

1. [*The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art*](https://books.google.com/books?id=RR1OHC8dAVsC&dq=clara+ross+composer&pg=PA316). Chawton Publishing Company, Limited. 1892.

1. [*Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions*](https://books.google.com/books?id=hUccAQAAIAAJ&dq=clara+ross+composer&pg=PA904). Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1922.

## External links

- [Listen to music by Clara Ross.](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC878J8mcBo_EJNWkzwHZJFzklUOJQRw_)
- [Download free sheet music by Clara Ross.](http://www.claraross.co.uk/Works/index.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Clara Ross](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Ross) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Ross?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.