Mary Hissem De Moss

Mary Hissem De Moss Lyon (July 27, 1871 – August 23, 1960) was an American concert and oratorio singer, based in New York, and known as the "Festival Soprano" for her many appearances at music festivals across the United States and Canada.

Mary Hissem De Moss
A white woman with dark hair
Mary Hissem De Moss in 1909
BornJuly 27, 1871
California, Kentucky
DiedAugust 23, 1960 (age 89)
Montclair, New Jersey
Other namesMary Lyon
OccupationSinger

Early life

Mary "Mamie" Hissem was born in California, Kentucky and raised in New Richmond, Ohio, the daughter of Martin Luther Hissem and Rachel Galloway Hissem. Her father and brother were steamboat captains on the Ohio River. She studied voice at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.[1]

Career

Hissem, a soprano,[2] was a church soloist in Cincinnati and in New York City. She toured as a soloist with the New York Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Walter Damrosch. She was a guest soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1906, 1909, and 1910.[3] She sang at Carnegie Hall more than a dozen times between 1900 and 1908,[4] and sang at Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh in 1902, 1904, and 1912.[5] She was known as the "Festival Soprano"[6] for her many appearances at music festivals,[7] including the Worcester Music Festival,[8] the Muncie Festival of Music,[9] the Cincinnati May Festival, the Louisville May Festival,[10] and the Bethlehem Bach Festival.[11][12] She also sang on radio broadcasts, and made recordings.[13]

Personal life

Hissem married newspaper writer Lacy M. De Moss in 1894. After Lacy De Moss died in 1934,[14] she married again, to singer Frederick D. Lyon; he died in 1952.[1] She died in 1960, at the age of 89, at a nursing home in Montclair, New Jersey.[15]

References
  1. Tenkotte, Paul A.; Claypool, James C. (2014-10-17). The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-5996-6.
  2. "Guelph Presto Music Club". University of Guelph Library. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  3. "Performance History: Mary Hissem De Moss". Boston Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  4. "Mary Hissem de Moss (1871-1960)". Carnegie Hall. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  5. "Carnegie Music Hall Concert Programs: 1895-1931". Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  6. "Symphony Tonight; Mrs. Mary Hissem De Moss, Known as the "Festival Soprano"". The Morning Journal-Courier. 1907-11-25. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-06-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Mme. Mary Hissem De Moss; Will Appear in Opera House Thursday Evening". Carlisle Evening Herald. 1909-02-23. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-06-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Annual Festival of the Worcester County Musical Association. The Association. 1882. p. 16.
  9. "Muncie Festival of Music a Success in All Particulars". Muncie Evening Press. 1903-04-24. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-06-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Programme for Music Festival". The Courier-Journal. 1907-04-07. p. 17. Retrieved 2022-06-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Mme. De Moss to End Season as Bach Festival Soloist". Musical America. 22: 18. May 15, 1915.
  12. Walters, Raymond (1918). The Bethlehem Bach Choir: An Historical and Interpretative Sketch. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 82.
  13. "Mme. Mary Hissem de Moss, Soprano". Edison Amberol Monthly. 9: 7. November 1911. ISBN 9780934281584.
  14. "Lacy M. Demoss; Former News Writer to be Buried in New York". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1934-01-31. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-06-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Madame De Moss Dies; Former Concert Singer, 89, Was Mrs. Frederick Lyon". The New York Times. 1960-08-24. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
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