Eleanor Everest Freer was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 composer and philanthropist.

Life

Eleanor Everest was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of Cornelius Everest and Ellen Amelia (Clark) Everest, and studied singing in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 with Mathilde Marchesi

Mathilde Marchesi

Mathilde Marchesi was a German mezzo-soprano, a renowned teacher of singing, and a proponent of the bel canto vocal method.-Biography:...

 and composition with Benjamin Godard

Benjamin Godard

Benjamin Louis Paul Godard was a French violinist and Romantic composer.-Biography:Born in Paris, Godard was a student of Henri Vieuxtemps. He entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1863 where he studied under Vieuxtemps and Napoléon Henri Reber and accompanied Vieuxtemps twice to Germany...

. She taught music in Philadelphia and New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and married Chicago doctor Archibald Freer in 1893. The couple had one daughter and moved to Chicago in 1899, where Eleanor Freer studied music theory with Bernard Ziehn.

Freer was the founder of the Opera in Our Language Foundation (OOLF) in 1921 and the American Opera Society of Chicago (AOSC). She died in Chicago in 1942.

Works

Freer composed eleven opera and more than 150 songs, many of which were published in collections. Selected works include:

• A Book of Songs, op. 4 (9 songs)
• Five Songs to Spring
• Four Songs
• Six Songs to Nature
• Sonnets from the Portuguese (44 songs)
• The Brownings Go to Italy
• Massimiliano, or The Court Jester, Romantic Opera in One Act
• The Legend of the Piper opera