Pauline Alderman
Encyclopedia
Pauline Alderman PhD. was an American
musicologist and composer
. She was the founder and the first Chairwoman of the Department of Music History and Literature (musicology) at the University of Southern California
, between 1952-60.
and organ
, as well as in English
and German literature
in her youth. Her first teaching career started at the McMinnville junior high school in 1916 where she taught English literature. Alderman further taught history and music in Portland and attended summer music classes at the University of California
in Berkeley
in 1918. Between 1920-23 she became a student of Carolyn Alchin, while she was teaching at the Ellison-White Conservatory of Music, then newly founded Conservatory in Portland.
Alderman attended New York Institute of Musical Art (later Juilliard School of Music), where she was a student of Percy Goetschius
, in 1923. A year later, she started to teach piano, music theory
and history of music
at the Pomona College
in Claremont, California
. Later, from 1928 to 1930, she taught at the University of Washington
, then music and literature
at the University of Southern California
(USC) in Los Angeles, where she earned her PhD degree. Alderman had classes with Arnold Schönberg.
She moved to Europe
in 1938, where she decided to take lessons from Donald Francis Tovey
at the University of Edinburgh
. Later at the University of Strasbourg
. Completing her studies she returned to Los Angeles in 1940, where she was back teaching at the University of Southern California. (USC) While teaching, she had composition lessons with Ernst Toch
and Lucien Cailliet
. Alderman presented her dissertation at USC which she named it Antoine Bad Set and the Air de Cour. In year 1952, she became the first Chairwoman of the Department of Music History and Literature which she founded, until her retirement in 1960.
USC in its publication, Musicology at USC, A Handbook for Graduate Students
2007–2008, wrote:
Alderman, in addition to her songs, composed an opera
Bombasto Furioso (1938) and the operetta Come On Over (1940), which won the ASCAP Award for 1940, the first time the prize was won by a woman.
The International Congress on Women in Music sponsored by International Alliance for Women in Music
has established the Pauline Alderman Award for musicological and journalistic works on women in music in 1982.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musicologist 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...
. She was the founder and the first Chairwoman of the Department of Music History and Literature (musicology) at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, between 1952-60.
Biography
Alderman received training in pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, as well as in English
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
and German literature
German literature
German literature comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German part of Switzerland, and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora. German literature of the modern period is mostly in Standard German, but there...
in her youth. Her first teaching career started at the McMinnville junior high school in 1916 where she taught English literature. Alderman further taught history and music in Portland and attended summer music classes at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
in 1918. Between 1920-23 she became a student of Carolyn Alchin, while she was teaching at the Ellison-White Conservatory of Music, then newly founded Conservatory in Portland.
Alderman attended New York Institute of Musical Art (later Juilliard School of Music), where she was a student of Percy Goetschius
Percy Goetschius
Percy Goetschius won international fame in the teaching of the theory of composition.-Life:Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Goetschius was the piano pupil of Robert E. H. Gehring, a prominent teacher of that era. Goetschius was the organist of the Second Presbyterian Church from 1868–1870 and of the...
, in 1923. A year later, she started to teach piano, music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
and history of music
History of music
Music is found in every known culture, past and present, varying wildly between times and places. Around 50,000 years ago, early modern humans began to disperse from Africa, reaching all the habitable continents...
at the Pomona College
Pomona College
Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...
in Claremont, California
Claremont, California
Claremont is a small affluent college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population as of the 2010 census is 34,926. Claremont is known for its seven higher-education institutions, its...
. Later, from 1928 to 1930, she taught at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, then music and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
(USC) in Los Angeles, where she earned her PhD degree. Alderman had classes with Arnold Schönberg.
She moved to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1938, where she decided to take lessons from Donald Francis Tovey
Donald Francis Tovey
Sir Donald Francis Tovey was a British musical analyst, musicologist, writer on music, composer, conductor and pianist...
at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. Later at the University of Strasbourg
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers....
. Completing her studies she returned to Los Angeles in 1940, where she was back teaching at the University of Southern California. (USC) While teaching, she had composition lessons with Ernst Toch
Ernst Toch
Ernst Toch was a composer of classical music and film scores.- Biography :Toch, born in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, into the family of a humble Jewish leather dealer when the city was at its 19th-century cultural zenith, sought throughout his life to introduce new approaches to music...
and Lucien Cailliet
Lucien Cailliet
Lucien Cailliet was an American composer, conductor, arranger and clarinetist.-Biography:Born at Dijon, in France, Cailliet studied at the Conservatory in his native city before migrating to the United States in 1918....
. Alderman presented her dissertation at USC which she named it Antoine Bad Set and the Air de Cour. In year 1952, she became the first Chairwoman of the Department of Music History and Literature which she founded, until her retirement in 1960.
USC in its publication, Musicology at USC, A Handbook for Graduate Students
2007–2008, wrote:
Alderman, in addition to her songs, composed an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Bombasto Furioso (1938) and the operetta Come On Over (1940), which won the ASCAP Award for 1940, the first time the prize was won by a woman.
The International Congress on Women in Music sponsored by International Alliance for Women in Music
International Alliance for Women in Music
The International Alliance for Women in Music is an international membership organization of women and men dedicated to fostering and encouraging the activities of women in music, particularly in the areas of musical activity, such as composing, performing, and research, in which gender...
has established the Pauline Alderman Award for musicological and journalistic works on women in music in 1982.
Works
- Antoine Boesset and the Air de Cour, Dissertation, 1946
- A Survey of Vocal Literature (1952)
- Theme and Variations (1943-45)
- Pioneers of Music (1950)
- We Build a School of Music (1989) (For all intents, a rousing autobiography centered on her years at the School of Music.)