Edna Gansel
Edna Gansel | |
|---|---|
 Edna Gansel, from a 1921 publication | |
| Born | Frances Edna Gansel April 11, 1899 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | May 2, 1983 (age 84) California, U.S. |
| Other name | Edna Gansel Dundon |
| Occupation | Violinist |
Frances Edna Gansel Dundon (April 11, 1899 – May 2, 1983) was an American violinist, music educator, composer, and writer, based in southern California.
Early life and education
[edit]Gansel was born in Chicago,[1] the daughter of Jonathan Young Scammon Gansel and Mary Frances Theresa Loeser Gansel. She studied with Harry Dimond in Chicago.[2]
Career
[edit]Gansel was an associate member of the University of Chicago Orchestra in 1915.[3] She and her sister, pianist Laura Gansel,[4] played music for guests at Chicago's La Salle Hotel for six years in the 1910s.[2][5] During a recital at Kimball Hall in 1921, she displayed "charming stage presence and manner" and "remarkably fine technical equipment".[6] She assisted music educator Gustav Berndt at the North Shore Conservatory.[7] In 1925, Gansel opened a violin studio in Pasadena,[2] and she taught at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music and Arts in 1928.[8] Her New York debut was in 1930.[9] She was sometimes an accompanist.[10][11]
In 1934, Gansel and Alfred Grosjean received a patent for a "modernistic violin".[12] In 1954, Gansel gave an interview to the Pasadena Independent about the "demise of violin" and her campaign to revive violin education for children. "I'd like to have a great violin choir in Pasadena," she told the reporter.[13]
Works
[edit]- "Ave Maria of Peace" (1937, composition)[14]
- The Echo of the Soul: The Story of the Violin (1937, a musical drama)[15]
- Composite study for double stopping in eight positions for violin (1940)[16]
- "Let My Dreams Come True" (1944, song, words by Joe Bonner)[17]
- "My Heavenly Queen" (1944, song, words by Joe Bonner)[17]
- "More Than You'll Ever, Ever Know" (1945, song, words by Joe Bonner)[17]
Personal life
[edit]Gansel married fellow entertainer Francis Augustine Dundon in 1925.[18] They lived in Altadena, California, and had five children born between 1926 and 1942. One son died in infancy. Her youngest son Timothy survived a stabbing attack in 1959,[19] and was a controversial figure known as "Zeke the Sheik" in their Altadena neighborhood for many years afterward.[20] Her only daughter, Edna, died in 1979. Gansel's husband, who became an aerospace executive,[20] died in 1981, and she died in 1983, at the age of 84, in California.
References
[edit]- ↑ "Edna Gansel, Violinist, to Make Eastern Debut in Concert, Friday". The Daily News. 1930-04-23. p. 6. Archived from the original on 2025-03-12. Retrieved 2025-03-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 "Method of Famous Teacher to be Used by This Violiniste". The Pasadena Post. 1925-07-02. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-03-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "The University of Chicago Orchestra". The Cap and Gown (Yearbook). 20: 226. 1915.
- ↑ "Talented Musician Soloist of Sunday Symphony Concert". The Duluth News Tribune. 1925-03-22. p. 32. Retrieved 2025-03-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Town Talk". The Hotel World. 84: 49. May 5, 1917.
- ↑ Beldon, Agnes (April 29, 1921). "Edna Gansel's Violin Recital is Great Success". The Music News. 13 (17): 26.
- ↑ "Gustav Berndt--North Shore Conservatory" The Music News (July 4, 1924): 27.
- ↑ "The Pasadena Conservatory of Music and Arts" (advertisement) Pasadena Star-News (January 1, 1928): n.p.
- ↑ "Edna Gansel Applauded; Young American Violinist Makes Her New York Debut". The New York Times. 1930-02-09. p. 28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
- ↑ "Noted Soprano is to Present 'Thais' for Woman's Club". The Record. 1930-02-15. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-03-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Famous Singers on Club Program". The Pasadena Post. 1929-05-01. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-03-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ United States Patent Office (July 1934). Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. U.S. Patent Office. p. 1214.
- ↑ Sumner, Bill (1954-02-12). "Artist Sadly Eyes Demise of Violin; She Excited New York". Pasadena Independent. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-03-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Library of Congress Copyright Office (1936). Catalogue of Copyright Entries ...: Works of arts, etc. New series. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 145.
- ↑ Library of Congress Copyright Office (1937). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [C] Group 3. Dramatic Composition and Motion Pictures. New Series. p. 120.
- ↑ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1941. p. 847.
- 1 2 3 Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1945. pp. 53, 66, 470.
- ↑ "Concert for Park Sunday is Arranged". The Pasadena Post. 1925-08-12. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-03-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Mother 'Forgives'; Son Critically Stabbed". Pasadena Independent. 1959-05-26. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-03-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 "Tim Dundon, 'Guru of Doo Doo,' whose compost nourished Altadena's gardens, dies at 77". Los Angeles Times. 2019-08-07. Archived from the original on 2025-02-28. Retrieved 2025-03-10.