Alice L. Weiss Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-388

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The papers of Alice L. Weiss document her performance experience as a student of the Oberlin College Conservatory. The documents also provide a glimpse into her accomplishments and experiences as a young student in the field of music and her career as a musician. Although her Oberlin College materials relate to her graduate work in the Oberlin Conservatory, they provide an example of the commitment and dedication that musicians invest in order to study music theory and perform musical arrangements.

Letters from two of her professors at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Edward Dickinson (1870-1946) and George W. Andrews (1861-1932), offer comment on the positive aspects of her recital, and record best wishes in seeing her perform at this level. These letters are important in showing the student and professor relationships at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the level of involvement the professors had with their students.

Two diagrams of the organs in Finney Chapel and Warner Concert Hall are filed in the collection. The diagrams (with assigned grades) appear to be projects completed for an academic course at Oberlin. These drawings show the stops, pedals and other parts of the organs.

The series of six music programs contains further evidence of Alice’s career as a musician and performer following her education at the Oberlin Conservatory. Included are programs relating to her performances as the accompanist with the St. Cecilia Club in 1932 and as pianist with the Seattle Symphony in 1933. There are also programs that provide examples of the recitals and concerts held at Oberlin during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Performances at Finney Chapel in 1926 include: Organ recital by Marshall Bidwell, the Cleveland Orchestra and in 1932 a program dedicated to the organ compositions of George W. Andrews. A program for a conservatory recital in 1927 is included in this subseries.

In addition to the musical compositions and programs, the collection contains black and white photographs of Alice Weiss and her family. Filed in this series is a postcard with a picture of Professor Josef Pembauer (1875-1950), with whom Alice and Karl studied while in Germany from 1929 to 1930.

The historical importance of this collection lies in the documentation of the success of a young woman student at the Oberlin Conservatory as well as in her career as a musician between 1926 and her death in 1951. With exception of the student file, there are no other documents regarding Alice’s personal life.

This collection of modest size (0.5 linear feet) is organized into five series: correspondence (incoming), drawings, music programs, musical compositions, and photographs and postcard.

Dates

Creation: 1926-1939, undated
Other: Majority of material found in 1926-1933
Other: Date acquired: 2006 November 27

Creator

Weiss, Alice L. (Weiss, Alice Louise Spencer) (Person)

Biographical or Historical Information

Alice Louise (Spencer) Weiss was born on July 9, 1903 to Carol Alice Eyestone and Robert W. Spencer in Albia, Iowa. The family moved in 1905 to Ft. Morgan, Colorado, where Robert W. Spencer was the publisher for the Ft. Morgan Times.

After beginning her studies at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, Alice continued her education at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and earned her Bachelor of Music in 1925 and her Master of Music in 1926. During her years at Oberlin, Alice was a member of the College’s Musical Union and the Women’s Glee Club.

At the Oberlin Conservatory, Alice was a student of Professor George W. Andrews (b. 1861, d. 1932), a prominent composer and organist. A personal letter from Professor Andrews, dated 9 June 1926, documents his delight in having Alice as a student. Another acquaintance was Professor Edward Dickinson (b. 1870, d. 1946). Although he retired from the faculty as professor of history and criticism of music in 1922, he attended a graduate piano recital given by Alice in 1926. In a letter dated 6 June 1926, he praised the composition, and was ‘taken with its charm’. Both letters offer comment on the positive aspects of her recital, and record best wishes in seeing her perform at a graduate level.

From 1926-1929, Alice was an appointed instructor of pianoforte and theory at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. During her tenure at Cornell College, Alice married fellow teacher Karl Erwin Weiss (d. 1957) on 14 June 1929. Karl, from Buffalo, New York, attended the Eastman School of Music and graduated in 1926. During the years 1929-1930, Alice and Karl studied in Munich, Germany under Josef Pembaur and in 1930 returned to the United States and settled in Tacoma, Washington.

During the next twenty-one years, Alice taught music, performed at concerts, played organ at church, and maintained the Weiss household. She held a position at the Annie Wright Seminary and was on the Pacific Lutheran College (later called the Pacific Lutheran University) faculty as a piano instructor. Alice served as the organist for the First Lutheran Church in Tacoma and was a member of the Guild of Organists. Karl Weiss was a professor of music at the Pacific Lutheran College in Tacoma. Alice and Karl Weiss had two daughters, Dorothea (b. 24 January 1938) and Maria (b. 24 November 1942).

As a pianist, Alice performed with the St. Cecilia Club as the accompanist from the years 1931-1935 and her husband served as the conductor. She was also the solo pianist for a concerto performed with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra in 1933.

Alice Weiss died 8 June 1951 of cancer in Tacoma, Washington.

>Sources Consulted

The finding guides for the Edward Dickinson Papers (30/25) and George W. Andrews Papers (30/54); Alice L. Weiss (nee Spencer) student file (28/2).

Note written by Erica Noble