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Ida Geer Weller

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American singer and clubwoman
Ida Geer Weller, from a 1920 publication.

Ida Geer Weller (1881-1944) was an American concert singer and clubwoman.

Early life

Ida Geer was from Beaver, Pennsylvania.

Career

Ida Geer Weller (1913)

Ida Geer Weller was a mezzo-contralto. Her voice was described as being "of great range and flexibility, large in natural volume, but leading itself easily to lighter work." She started performing in Pittsburgh as a concert singer, and as president of the South Hills Choral Club. During World War I she substituted for a Pittsburgh church soloist who was called into military service; she was also a soloist at the city's YMCA celebration of the Fourth of July in 1918.

In New York, Weller performed concerts for radio. "I believe radio will have a marked effect on the people of tomorrow," she explained in a 1922 interview, "the children of today." She also wrote about music in essays such as "Music Aids His Return to Health" (1920) and "Songs Reflect Colors" (1921), in which she describes how a recital program is best assembled.

Weller was also interested in psychology. She gave an address on "The Psychology of Americanization" to the Psychology Club in Nashville, Tennessee, while she was in that city to perform. She also appeared as "guest of honor" of the Rotary Club in Nashville during her visit. In 1928 she was a leader of the New York chapters of Women of Mooseheart Legion, a women's auxiliary of the Loyal Order of Moose.

Later years in Beaver

She moved back to her hometown in Pennsylvania in 1934; that year, she started a "morning musicale" club in Beaver. In the late 1930s, she chaired an annual juried art exhibit in Beaver, and raised money for arts education. In 1938 she was director of the Music and Art Center of Beaver County. She died in 1944, in her early sixties.

References

  1. "Ida Geer Weller, an Appreciation" Musical Monitor (June 1921): 413.
  2. "Ida Geer Weller" Music News (February 17, 1922): 21.
  3. "Mrs. Weller's Recital" Pittsburgh Sunday Post (May 19, 1918): 42. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  4. "Pittsburgh, Pa." Musical America (August 3, 1918): 34.
  5. "Ida Geer Weller Sings for Radio" Music News (February 17, 1922 ): 30.
  6. "Mother's Day on the Radio" The Times (March 6, 1926): 2. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  7. Claire Burquo, "An Interview with Ida Geer Weller" Wireless Age (October 1922): 31.
  8. Ida Geer Weller, "Music Aids His Return to Health" Wisconsin State Journal (November 21, 1920): 14. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  9. Ida Geer Weller, "Songs Reflect Colors" Musical Monitor (April 1921): 322.
  10. "Americans Not Awake to Status, Says Singer" Nashville Tennessean (October 31, 1923): 8. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  11. "Miss Ida Weller Scores Triumph" Nashville Tennessean (October 3, 1923): 14. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  12. "Ida Geer Weller to Sing for Rotarians" Nashville Tennessean (September 25, 1923): 12. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  13. "Attend Mooseheart Banquet in New York" Kingston Daily Freeman (March 5, 1928): 2. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  14. "Visits Legion" Elmira Star-Gazette (May 23, 1928): 25. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  15. "Beaver Initiates Morning Musicale" Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (September 21, 1934): 14. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  16. "'Home Talent' Art Exhibit is Held in Beaver County" Pittsburgh Press (March 16, 1936): 14. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  17. "Beaver Group to Open Pennsylvania's First County Art Show with Jury Dinner March 12" East Liverpool Review (March 4, 1938): 3. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  18. "Valley Audience Enjoys 'Little Men'" Daily Times (January 10, 1938): 7.

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