Mildred Souers

Mildred Elizabeth Thomson Souers[1] (February 26, 1894 - August 1977)[2] was an American composer[3] who wrote music for ballets and ballet studios, as well as for chamber ensembles, piano, and voice.[4]

Souers was born in Des Moines, Iowa, to Addie F. and Ogilvie Sinclair Thomson. She married Marshall Ankeny Souers in 1918 and they had one son.[2]

Souers attended Drake University, where she studied with Francis J. Pyle.[5] Later, she studied with Marion Bauer in New York.[6] During World War I, she worked as a studio accompanist for Grace Jones Jackson, and volunteered as a weekly entertainer on Red Cross programs.[1] She was an announcer for Iowa radio stations KSO and KRNT.[7]

Souers belonged to the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP),[4] the music sorority Sigma Alpha Iota, and the First Church of Christ, Scientist. She was a board member of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra.[8] One of her choral compositions won First Prize from the National Federation of Music Clubs.[4] The Iowa Federation of Music Clubs honored her as their Composer of the Year in 1962.[9]

Souers’ papers are archived at the State Historical Society of Iowa in the Annals of Iowa.[7] Her compositions were recorded commercially by Hoctor Records,[10] a sub-label of Dance Records, Inc.[11] Souers’ music is published by Carl Fischer Inc., [12] Hal Leonard,[13] and Willis Music Co.[14] Her compositions include:

Ballet
  • Ballet of the Enchanted Dolls (piano, flute and voice; with Betty Bird and Titiana Grantzeva)[10]
  • Barre and Technique Melodies for the Dance Studio[15]
  • Dance of the Field Mice[16]

Piano
  • Under the Greenwood Tree[6]

Vocal
  • “Christmas Folk Song”[19]
  • “Immortal”[4]
  • “Iowa, Beautiful Land”[8]
  • “What Christmas Means to Me”
  • Winter Nocturne (for chorus)[15]


References
  1. Souers, Mildred (15 Sep 1918). "The Des Moines Register". Newspapers.com. p. 29. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  2. Souers, Mildred. "ancestry.com". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  3. Stern, Susan (1978). Women composers : a handbook. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-1138-3. OCLC 3844725.
  4. Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International Encyclopedia of Women Composers. Books & Music (USA). ISBN 978-0-9617485-1-7.
  5. Pfitzinger, Scott (2017-03-01). Composer Genealogies: A Compendium of Composers, Their Teachers, and Their Students. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-7225-5.
  6. Claghorn, Charles Eugene (1996). Women composers and songwriters : a concise biographical dictionary. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-585-03162-2. OCLC 42329817.
  7. Annals of Iowa. Iowa State Historical Department, Division of Historical Museum and Archives. 2001.
  8. Souers, Mildred (31 Aug 1977). "The Des Moines Register". Newspapers.com. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  9. Pan Pipes of Sigma Alpha Iota. George Banta Company. 1962.
  10. The Ballet Of The Enchanted Dolls Mildred Thompson Souers Betty Bird Tatiana Grantzeva, retrieved 2022-01-25
  11. Records, Hoctor. "Rate Your Music - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  12. Stewart-Green, Miriam (1980). Women composers : a checklist of works for the solo voice. Boston, Mass.: G.K. Hall. ISBN 0-8161-8498-4. OCLC 6815939.
  13. "Mildred T. Souers: Impromptu: National Federation of Music Clubs 2014-2016 Selection Advanced Level". Presto Music. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  14. Souers, Mildred. "Scholars Junction - Mississippi State University Institutional Repository". scholarsjunction.msstate.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  15. Anderson, Ruth (1976). Contemporary American composers : a biographical dictionary. Boston: G.K. Hall. ISBN 0-8161-1117-0. OCLC 2035024.
  16. Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1957). Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series.
  17. Clavier: A Magazine for Pianists & Organists. Instrumentalist Company. 1964.
  18. Showcase: Music Clubs Magazine. National Federation of Music Clubs. 1960.
  19. Bro, J. Fischer &; Bro, J. Fischer &. "J. Fischer & Bro. Music Publishers Collection". infomotions.com. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  20. "Solo Bank - Composer Index". vocal-works.com. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
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