Rosalie Housman

Housman was born on June 25, 1888, in San Francisco. She studied at the University of California and in England. She was a pupil of Arthur Foote, Ernest Bloch, Oscar Weil, and Walter Henry Rothwell.[1] Housman later lectured in the Eastern United States.[2] She traveled back to San Francisco to visit until her death.[3] She died on October 28, 1949, in New York City, at age 61.[1][3]

Housman wrote more than 100 compositions, which were performed in a variety of concerts and on the radio in the United States and England.[1][3] Three songs that Housman had composed were sung by Clarinda Smith, a soprano from New York, at the National American Music Festival.[4] Some of her other compositions were sung by Florence Macbeth, Florence Easton, Greta Masson, Sara Teasdale, and Mary Jordan.[5]

Housman interviewed composer E. Robert Schmitz for The Music News in 1921.[6]

Housman wrote chamber music for the violin and piano, as well as wrote songs for the piano that also included choral music. She composed music for an entire synagogue service.[1] Her composition Pieces of Jade was made for violin, viola, flute, gong, harp and soprano.[7]

She wrote compositions for the poem Tora-Binder by Dhan Gopal Mukerji, the poem The Look by Sara Teasdale, and the Irish song The Rim of the Moon.[8] Her compositions were sung by prominent musicians of the time.[9]

Tora-Binder was written for a medium voice in multiple variations of tones and The Musical Monitor stated that, "The modulations in this song are quite remarkable; in fact, the whole harmonic design is full of color". The Look is for a coloratura voice and The Rim of the Moon is for a low voice.[8]

After reviewing three of Housman's songs, The Musical Monitor concluded with "All three songs spell success".[8] Her work was praised by various musicians and publications, with reviews from The Music News, a Lockport daily newspaper, and from Carrie Jacobs-Bond, a composer who was the first woman to sell over a million copies of her own sheet music.[4][10] Critics have stated that Housman "shows much originality in composition, adhering to the modern idiom, though occasionally reverting too strongly to change of key."[11]