Amy Upham Thomson McKean
Amy Upham Thomson-McKean | |
|---|---|
| Born | Amy Thomson 22 February 1893 |
| Died | 1972 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Pianist, songwriter, composer |
| Parents |
|
Amy Upham Thomson-McKean (b. 22 February 1893 d. 1972) was an American pianist, songwriter and composer. Amy Thomson's father, Ralph E. emigrated from Glasgow in Scotland as a young man. Her mother was Anna J. Thomson and she had one brother Robert Stanley Thomson.[1] She married Alexander Mathew McKean Sept. 17, 1917 at Lafayette Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn, and had a daughter, Elaine (May 4, 1924) and son, Robert Alexander (September 25, 1918).
Amy Thomson attended high school in Boston where she studied with Felix Fox at the Fox-Buonamici School of Pianoforte at 403 Marlborough Street. She began to write compositions,[2] and studied with Bainbridge Christ and went on to publish songs and short works for violin and piano under both the names Amy Upham Thomson and Amy Thomson-McKean.[3][4] Thomson-McKean appeared on concert and recital programs in Brooklyn in the 1910s - 1930s.[5] She broadcast on Margaret Speaks on WOR NY in the 1920s.
Her papers are archived by her great-niece, artist Jamieson Thomas of Wilmington, DE.
Selected works[edit]
- "The Throstle" (text by Tennyson)
- "A Day in June"
- "Liebislied"
- "Tone Poem"
- "Bolero"
- "Chason du Soir"
- "Little Boy Blue"
- "Forever"
- "Dream in Town"
- "At Sunset"
- "Four Leaf Clover"
- "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes"
- "Soul of Mine"
- "Memory"
- "Dream of Maytime"
- "June Rain"
- "In the Young World"
- "Love Song"
- "In Venice"
- "Prelude in C Minor"
- "Waltz in D Flat"[6]
References[edit]
- ^ "Thomson Obit", Fitchburg Sentinel, p. 5, 14 September 1934, retrieved 4 June 2016
- ^ The Brooklyn Daily Eagle from Brooklyn, New York, 14 December 1919, p. 84, retrieved 4 June 2016
- ^ The Song World, The Writer's Magazine, February 1914, p. 183, retrieved 4 June 2016
- ^ The Music News, 2 January 1913, p. 32, retrieved 4 June 2016
- ^ Brooklyn Life, 11 December 1920, p. 16, retrieved 4 June 2016
- ^ "Brooklyn Musicians Give Works of Amy Thomson McKean", Musical America, vol. 31, p. 9, 27 December 1919, retrieved 4 June 2016
Brooklyn Standard Union, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 1928, Page 8]
Brooklyn Times Union, April 30, 1932, p. 27