Amanda Christina Elizabeth Aldridge (Amanda Ira Aldridge), (1866–1956), was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 opera singer, teacher and composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, under the pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

 of Montague Ring.

Life

Amanda Aldridge was born March 10, 1866 in Upper Norwood

Upper Norwood

Upper Norwood is an elevated area in south London, England within the postcode SE19. It is a residential district largely in the London Borough of Croydon although some parts extend into the London Borough of Lambeth, London Borough of Southwark and the London Borough of Bromley. Upper Norwood...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, the third child of black Shakespearian actor Ira Frederick Aldridge and his second wife, the Swedish countess Amanda Von Brandt

Amanda Von Brandt

Amanda von Brandt claimed to be Swedish countess and was the second wife of actor Ira Frederick Aldridge, whom she married on 20 April 1865. The couple had four children. Their eldest child was born during Aldridge's marriage to his first wife, Margaret Gill, and their youngest was born four...

. Aldridge studied voice under Jenny Lind

Jenny Lind

Johanna Maria Lind , better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she is known for her performances in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and across Europe, and for an extraordinarily...

 and Sir George Henschel at the Royal College of Music

Royal College of Music

The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...

 in London, and harmony and counterpoint with Frederick Bridge

Frederick Bridge

Sir John Frederick Bridge was an English organist, composer, teacher and writer.From a musical family, Bridge became a church organist before he was 20, and he achieved his ambition to become a cathedral organist by the age of 24, at Manchester Cathedral...

 and Frances Edward Gladstone.

After completing her studies, Aldridge worked as a concert singer, piano accompanist, and voice teacher. A throat condition ended her concert appearances, and she turned to teaching and published about thirty songs between the years 1907 and 1925 in a romantic parlor style, as well as instrumental music in other styles. Notable students include Roland Hayes

Roland Hayes

Roland Hayes was a lyric tenor and is considered the first African American male concert artist to receive wide international acclaim as well as at home...

, Marian Anderson

Marian Anderson

Marian Anderson was an African-American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century...

, and Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson

Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...

. At the age of eighty-eight, Aldridge made her first television appearance in the British show Music For You where Muriel Smith

Muriel Smith

Muriel Smith, OC is a Manitoba politician. She ran for the leadership of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba in 1979, and subsequently served in the cabinet of NDP Premier Howard Pawley....

sang Montague Ring's "Little Southern Love Song." After a short illness, she died on March 9, 1956.

Works

Selected works include:

• "An Assyrian Love Song," words by F. G. Bowles. London: Elkin & Co., 1921.
• "Azalea," words and music by M. Ring. London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, 1907.
• "Blue Days of June," words by F. E. Weatherly. London: Chappell & Co., 1915.
• "The Bride," words by P. J. O'Reilly. London: Chappell & Co., 1910.
• "The Fickle Songster," words by H. Simpson. London: Cary & Co., 1908.
• "Little Brown Messenger," words by F. G. Bowles. London: G. Ricordi & Co., 1912.
• "Little Missie Cakewalk," words by Talbot Owen; banjo accompaniment by Clifford Essex. London: Lublin & Co., 1908.
• "Little Rose in My Hair," words by E. Price-Evans. London: Chappell & Co., 1917.
• "Two Little Southern Songs. 1. Kentucky Love song 2. June in Kentucky," words by F. G. Bowles. London: Chappell & Co., 1912.
• "Love's Golden Day," words by E. Price-Evans. London: Chappell & Co., 1917.
• "Miss Magnolia Brown," words and music by M. Ring. London: Francis, Day & Hunter, 1907.
• "My Dreamy, Creamy, Coloured Girl," words and music by M. Ring. London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, 1907.
• "My Little Corncrake Coon," words by Talbot Owen. London: Lublin & Co., 1908.
• "Simple Wisdom," words by H. Simpson. London: Lublin & Co., 1908.
• "A Song of Spring," words by P. J. O'Reilly. London and New York: Boosey & Co., 1909.
• "Summah is de Lovin' Time. A Summer Night," words by P. L. Dunbar. London: Chappell & Co., 1925.
• "A Summer Love Song," words by I. R. A. London and New York: Boosey & Co., 1907.
• "Supplication," words by P. J. O'Reilly. London: Leonard & Co., 1914.
• "Through the Day. Three Songs. 1. Morning 2. Noon 3. Evening," words by P. J. O'Reilly. London and New York: Boosey & Co., 1910.
• "'Tis Morning," words by P. L. Dunbar. London: Elkin & Co., 1925.
• "When the Coloured Lady Saunters Down the Street," words and music by M. Ring. London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, 1907.
• "Where the Paw-Paw Grows," words by Henry E. Downing. London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, 1907.

External links

• Northwestern University Libaray Alridge Collection