Mary Watson Weaver

'''Mary Eliza Watson Weaver''' (January 16, 1903 – November 16, 1990) was an American composer, pianist,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stern, Susan, 1953-|title=Women composers : a handbook|date=1978|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=0-8108-1138-3|location=Metuchen, N.J.|oclc=3844725}}</ref> and poet who was born in Kansas City, Missouri.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hykuAAAAMAAJ&q=mary+watson+weaver+composer|title=School and Community|date=1974|publisher=Missouri State Teachers Association.|language=en}}</ref>

==Life== Mary received B.A. and B. M. degrees from Smith College (Massachusetts) and Ottawa University (Kansas).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hixon, Donald L.|title=Women in music : an encyclopedic biobibliography|date=1993|publisher=Scarecrow Press|others=Hennessee, Don A.|isbn=0-8108-2769-7|edition=2nd|location=Metuchen, N.J.|oclc=28889156}}</ref> She continued to study music with Rosario Scalero and Deems Taylor at the Curtis Institute of Music<ref>{{Cite book|last=Heinrich, Adel.|title=Organ and harpsichord music by women composers : an annotated catalog|date=1991|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-313-38790-6|location=New York|oclc=650307517}}</ref> (Philadelphia), and privately in New York and France.

Mary married composer and organist Powell Weaver on March 24, 1938,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Weaver|first=Mary|date=October 21, 2020|title=www.ancestry.com|url=http://www.ancestry.com|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=October 21, 2020|website=}}</ref> and they had one son (Thomas Watson Weaver).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Weaver|first=Powell|date=December 23, 1951|title=Powell Weaver Obituary|work=Rapid City Journal (South Dakota)|url=http://www.newspapers.com|access-date=October 21, 2020}}</ref> She gave lectures and recitals, and taught piano at the Kansas City Conservatory, the Curtis Institute, the University of Missouri–Kansas City (1946 – 1957), the Manhattan School of Music (New York; 1957 – 1970), and the Henry Street School of Music (New York).

==Compositions== Mary's compositions were published by Belwin-Mills, G. Schirmer Inc., Galaxy Music Corporation, and Shawnee Press. She collaborated with her husband on some compositions (noted below), and he set some of her poems to music.<ref>{{Citation|last=Meckna|first=Michael|title=Weaver, Powell|date=2016-05-25|url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002293315|work=Oxford Music Online|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.a2293315|isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |access-date=2020-10-21|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Her musical compositions, all for voice, include:

*''All Weary Men'' (with Powell Weaver; mixed chorus; 1949)<ref>{{Cite book|last=Claghorn, Charles Eugene, 1911-2005.|title=Women composers and songwriters : a concise biographical dictionary|date=1996|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=0-585-03162-2|location=Lanham, Md.|oclc=42329817}}</ref> *''Confess Jehovah'' (mixed chorus; 1951) *"Cradle Song" (text by Padraic Colum; soprano and piano; 1940)<ref>{{Cite web|last=www.lieder.net|date=October 21, 2020|title=Mary Watson Weaver|url=http://www.lieder.net|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=October 21, 2020|website=}}</ref> *''Enchanted Islands'' (women's chorus; 1952)<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cohen, Aaron I.|title=International encyclopedia of women composers|year=1987|isbn=0-9617485-2-4|edition=Second edition, revised and enlarged|location=New York|oclc=16714846}}</ref> *''God's Love Enfold'' (mixed chorus; 1952) *''Hail, Jesu Bambino'' (mixed chorus; 1967) *"Heart of Heaven" (soprano or alto and piano; 1952) *''Kneel Down'' (unspecified chorus)<ref>{{Cite book|last=Anderson, Ruth, 1928-2019.|title=Contemporary American composers : a biographical dictionary|date=1976|publisher=G.K. Hall|isbn=0-8161-1117-0|location=Boston|oclc=2035024}}</ref> *''Like Doves Descending'' (with Powell Weaver; mixed chorus; 1952) *''Like the Young Sheep'' (mixed chorus; 1950) *''New Mexican Lullaby'' (women's chorus; 1953) *''O Holy Child'' (women's chorus; 1952) *''On the Eve of the First Christmas'' (with Powell Weaver; mixed chorus; 1948) *''Rise Up All Men'' (mixed chorus; 1953) *''When Jesus Lay by Mary's Side'' (with Powell Weaver; mixed chorus; 1951) *Wild Swans<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aDVEAQAAIAAJ&q=mary+watson+weaver+composer|title=Musical Leader|date=1944|language=en}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson Weaver, Mary}} Category:20th-century American composers Category:1903 births Category:1990 deaths Category:American women composers Category:American women poets Category:Curtis Institute of Music alumni Category:Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri Category:Manhattan School of Music faculty Category:University of Missouri–Kansas City faculty Category:20th-century American women academics Category:20th-century American women poets