Caroline B. Nichols

Caroline Nichols
Portrait of Caroline Nichols in Frances E. Willard's Occupations for Women (1897)
Born1864
Dedham, Massachusetts
DiedAugust 17, 1939(1939-08-17) (aged 74–75)
Boston, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Occupationconductor

Caroline B. Nichols (1864–1939) was an American violinist, conductor and founder of the Fadette Ladies Orchestra (known as the Fadettes of Boston). Along with Emma Roberto Steiner, she is credited as one of the first women in the United States to make a successful career out of conducting musical performances.[1][2]

Nichols was a founding member of Marion Osgood's Ladies Orchestra, and about four years later she became a founding member of the Fadettes of Boston in 1888, a sextet including Ethel Atwood.[2] She quickly rose from first violin to conductor as the small group became a chamber orchestra,[2] assuming leadership in 1890.[3] She led the Fadettes for more than thirty years.[2] The group played and toured until 1920[4] and played more than 6000 concerts.[5][2][6] As a child, she studied violin with Julius Eichberg, Leopold Lichtenberg, and Charles Loeffler.[2] Nichols eventually retired to Boston and trained orchestra members and was instrumental in helping women to be financially independent. She died in Boston in 1939.[5]

  • Howe, Sondra Wieland (2013-11-07). Women music educators in the United States : a history. Lanham, Md. ISBN 9780810888487. OCLC 864140028.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Bowen, José Antonio (2003-11-20). The Cambridge Companion to Conducting. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107494787.

References

  1. ^ Bowen, José Antonio, ed. (2007). The Cambridge Companion to Conducting. Cambridge Companions to Music. Cambridge University Press. pp. 221–222. ISBN 978-0-521-52791-0.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Santella, Anna-Lise P. (24 February 2010). "Nichols [Daniel], Caroline B." Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.a2085442. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  3. ^ Willard, Frances E. (Frances Elizabeth); Winslow, Helen M. (Helen Maria); White, Sallie Elizabeth Joy (1897). Occupations for women. A book of practical suggestions, for the material advancement, the mental and physical development, and the moral and spiritual uplift of women. New York, The Success company.
  4. ^ Howe, Sondra Wieland (2013-11-07). Women Music Educators in the United States: A History. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810888487.
  5. ^ a b Ammer, Christine (2016-07-26). Unsung: A History of Women in American Music. BookBaby. ISBN 9781483577005.
  6. ^ Bowen, José Antonio (2003-11-20). The Cambridge Companion to Conducting. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107494787.


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