Crosby Adams Collection
The L. Nelson Bell Library at Montreat College houses a large collection of items related to Mr. and Mrs. Adams. Included in the collection are scrapbooks, clippings, musical works composed by Mrs. Adams, photographs, and both personal and professional papers. The collection also includes books authored by Mrs. Adams, dolls from Mrs. Adams’ personal collection, and musical scores, books, and other items from the Crosby Adams School of Music. Many items from the collection have been digitized, and are available via this website.
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This article was originally written for “The Asheville Times”, Asheville, N.C. and was later reproduced in pamphlet form and published by the Clayton F. Summy Company of Chicago, I.L. This company was the publisher of many of Mrs. Crosby Adams’ piano compositions and instructional books for music teachers and students. This pamphlet contains an article about Mrs. Adams’ contributions to music education, a photograph of Mrs. Adams and a list of her works available from the Clayton F. Summy Company. (9 1/4″x 6″ pamphlet, this image is back cover of pamphlet, this is a continuation of the list – image 00055.jpg- of Mrs. Adams’ works.)
This study shows how chords move towards each other. It is located in The Piano Writings of Mrs. Crosby Adams.
This photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams was taken in Montreat, North Carolina to mark their golden wedding anniversary (September 18, 1933). A reception was held for the couple at the Assembly Inn, Montreat, N.C., on September 18, 1933. The Aeolian Choir of Asheville, N.C. and the Chorus from the Montreat Normal School, both of which Mr. Adams directed, performed. 5 7/8″ x 3 1/2″
This is a piano recital program for a program in Asheville, N.C. on March 15, 1927 with Mrs. Edward MacDowell at the piano playing selections from her husband’s compositions. The program included a short talk on the work of the MacDowell Memorial Association.
Information about Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams, 1908 summer sessions for piano teachers appeared in the June 1908 issue of The Musician (vol. XII, no.6, p.250). This brief entry noted that two sessions would be conducted in July and August 1908. The Adamses resided in Oak Park, Illinois at that time.
Mr. Crosby Adams was the choral director of the Aeolian Choir. Formed in 1919 in Asheville, N.C., the Aeolian Choir was composed of women’s voices and presented annual concerts in Asheville and Montreat, N.C. for 13 years. The choral group also welcomed visiting conventions and performed at other events in the Asheville area. This program is from a dinner given in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams on August 21, 1924 at the Langren Hotel in Asheville, N.C.
Mr. Crosby Adams was the choral director of the Aeolian Choir. Formed in 1919 in Asheville, N.C. the Aeolian Choir was composed of women’s voices and presented annual concerts in Asheville and Montreat, N.C. for 13 years. This is the program for their second concert presented on February 24, 1921 in the High School Auditorium in Asheville, N.C. Mr. Adams conducted and Mrs. Adams was the piano accompanist.
This article by Mrs. Crosby Adams originally was published in the Music teachers National Association Volume of Proceedings, December 1931, Detroit, Michigan, page 94, under the title “Music Without Tears”. The article is addressed to those who teach music to children and offers advice on appropriate teaching materials and techniques. The article is based on a presentation Mrs. Adams gave before the Music Teachers’ National Association at the Convention held in Detroit, December 29-31, 1931.
This pamphlet contains an article reprinted from The New York Tribune about one writer’s experience at the MacDowell Colony
This article describes the announcement, on December 16, 1948, of the purchase of a building from Mrs. Frank Wilson, for the Crosby Adams Fine Arts Building on the Montreat College campus (Montreat, N.C.). Dr. J. Rupert McGregor, president of the college and the Montreat Association, made the announcement at a Chapel program attended by Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams and the students of Montreat College. Dr. McGregor presented the key to the building to Mrs. Adams and, following the chapel program, the crowd watched as Mrs. Adams officially opened the building.
This brochure was designed to announce Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams’ thirtieth Annual Summer Class for Teachers of Piano for the season of 1933. The classes were held in their home studio in The House-in-the-Woods, Montreat, North Carolina from August 2 to 9, 1933.
This is the cover of the Annual Bulletin of the National Association for American Composers and Conductors, 1944-1945. Mrs. Crosby Adams maintained membership in the organization and was a noted composer of piano music for children.
This is a program for the annual commencement concert given by the students of the Music Department and the Choir of Montreat Normal School in Montreat, N.C. on May 25, 1929. Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams directed the music program.
This biographical sketch of Juliette Graves Adams appears in a pamphlet entitled “Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams: Musicians of Note”. 81/2″x5 1/2
This is the biographical entry for Mr. Crosby Adams, choral director and teacher of music theory, which appears in The International Who is Who in Music, 5th ed., Chicago, I.L. , 1951, p.4. Mrs. Crosby Adams was an accompanist for many of his vocal ensembles and choirs.
This is a short biographical article about Mrs. Crosby Adams written by a former piano student and printed in May 1933 in Bluets, Volume V, Issue II, p. 15-18, Biltmore Junior College. (9 3/4″x 6 3/4″ p.15)
This is the program of Christmas music given by Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams on December 30, 1907 in their Oak Park, Illinois home. The program was presented under the auspices of the Ladies’ Aid Society of the Second Congregational Church for the benefit of the Illinois Children’s Home and Aid Society. Mrs. Adams played piano selections, carols, and duets.
This brief chronology notes major events in the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams, noted American musicians. (8 1/2″ x 11″ pamphlet)
This brochure announced the 1940 season for two classes, held by Mrs. Crosby Adams, for teachers of piano. The first class was held from June 17th through 29th at Winthrop College in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The second class was held from July 25th. through August 1st. in Mrs. Adams’ studio in her home in Montreat, N.C.
Concert program for a performance given by Mrs. Crosby Adams on November 26, 1915 in Raleigh, N.C. for the Association of Music Teachers. Mrs. Adams presented a paper, “A Cultivated Musical Taste: What It Must Include for the Music Student” followed by a performance of her own piano compositions.
This letter was sent to Mrs. Crosby Adams by Guy R. Lyle, Librarian, Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina (Greensboro, N.C.) in 1941 inviting her to continue donating her piano compositions to the Music Holograph Collection which was under development at that time. Enclosed with the letter is a list of the compositions in the Holograph Collection as of December 1940, indicating the inclusion of three of Mrs. Adams’ works.
This typed letter was written by Mrs. Crosby Adams in January 1946 to friends in lieu of her annual Christmas letter. In it she notes that Mr. Adams is slowly recovering from an accident that occured December 22, 1945. She also reviews their musical activities of the past year and refers to World War II in the closing sentence. A handwritten note at the bottom of the letter comments on Mr. Adams’ slow recovery.
This is the biographical entry on Mr. Crosby Adams that appears in a booklet, “Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams; Musicians of Note” 1995. Mr. Adams lived in Montreat, N.C. from 1913 to 1951 and was associated with Montreat College for many years as a choral director and teacher of music theory.
This brochure was prepared as part of the fundraising campaign for the Crosby Adams Fine Arts Building. The architect’s rendering was made in 1950 and shows the structure which was to be a replica of the Crosby Adams’ studio.
This address was given by Mrs. Milton Sullivan in Raleigh, North Carolina before the Executive Board and Council of State and District Presidents of the National Federation of Music Clubs, September 25-29, 1950. The address appeals to the Federation to sponsor the plan to raise funds for a fireproof Crosby Adams Fine ARts Building to be erected on the campus of Montreat College, Montreat, N.C.
This article, written by the Secretary of the Adams Music Building Fund Committee, describes the Crosby Adams Music Building that was planned for the campus of Montreat College, Montreat, N.C. in the late 1940’s
This overview of developments concerning the Adams Music Building was published in the book The Story of Montreat From Its Beginning, 1897-1947, by Robert Campbell Anderson, Montreat, N.C., 1949. (p. 144-145) (9 1/8″ x 6″ page 144 in book)
This is a list of Mrs. Adams’ compositions contained in the music holograph collection in the Walter Clinton Jackson Library at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro
This is a list of Mrs. Adams’ compositions contained in the music holograph collection in the Walter Clinton Jackson Library, at UNC-Greensboro, Greensboro, N.C.
This instructional booklet by Mrs. Crosby Adams contains two articles merged into one. “Recent Developments in Teaching Children to Play the Piano” was given before the Music Teachers’ National Association at their forty-third annual meeting held in Detroit in December 1921. “A Cultivated Musical Taste” was presented at the annual session of the Music Teachers’ of North Carolina, in Raleigh, November 1915.
Transcript
1941 MRS. CROSBY ADAMS 295 MRS. CROSBY ADAMS Crusade for Children’s Music ELIZABETH STONE HOYT �ART has no fatherland and all that is beautiful should be prized by us, no matter what clime or nationality has produced it.” So, the South is proud to acclaim a woman who, at eighty-three years of age, is its most remarkable musician -Mrs. Crosby Adams, best known to us as the composer of “Spring” and “Away in a Manger.” The South has every reason to call Mrs. Adams its own as she chose to come to Montreat, North Carolina, twenty-eight years ago to make her permanent home, and this region has absorbed the harmonic artistry of her and works. Juliette Aurelia Graves was born in Niagara Falls, New York, March 25, 1858. Before she was seven years old, she had begun studying piano, and by the time she was fourteen she was teaching piano and playing the organ in her home town. Two years later, in Rochester, New York, she began advanced work in piano under Mrs. C. S. P. Cary and ensemble lessons under Henri Appy. At twenty-one she began teaching at Ingham University in LeRoy, New York, working under the musical guidance of Claude Crittenden, who had been a pupil of Liszt. She left the University in 1883 when she married Crosby Adams, a choral conductor and musical educator, and they moved to Buffalo where Mrs. Adams became a successful teacher of piano, a capable organist, and a concert pianist. The middle period of her life was spent in the West; four years in Kansas City, Missouri, followed by twenty-one years in Chicago. The short sojourn in Kansas City was rich in accomplishments. Her successful piano teaching, her ability as an organist, and her talent as a composer won her a place of honor. Her impressive organ playing gave inspiration to the congregation of one of the city’s then largest churches, the Calvary Baptist Church. It was in that city that her creative ability began to express itself in her first musical composition Opus I, No. I. The Dance of the Marionettes. In 1892, Mr. and Mrs. Crosby originated and directed the “Crosby Adams School” in Chicago in which classes were conducted in instrumental and vocal music, musical theory and public school music � the latter having the distinction of being the first, two-year course in public school music ever taught in America. The publication of Mrs. Adams’ first musical compositions, the Opus /, Five Tone-Sketches, in 1896 was followed by many others. She was now sought as a lecturer on musical and literary topics in Chicago and environs and her articles on musical criticism appeared in Chicago newspapers. It was in this period that her illustrated musical concerts became popular. Another original idea was the Doll Festivals m which music about dolls and for dolls was presented. To the Adams’ home in Oak Park, Mrs. Edward MacDowell came to speak of the movement that she has since launched in memory of her distinguished husband, the MacDowell Colony at Peterboro, New Hampshire. In 1913 Mr. and Mrs. Adams decided to move to the Blue Ridge Mountains. They selected Montreat, North Carolina, as their home and they have helped make of it one of the musical centers of the South. Many celebrities have beaten a well-worn path to their cottage, “The House in the Woods.” Here they have continued their musical careers. They teach music in their studios in both Montreat and Asheville; they direct their teachers� courses; and they are associated with Montreat College (formerly Montreat Normal School). Mrs. Adams continues her musical composition, writes numerous articles, goes on extensive lecture and concert tours. Here she and Mr. Adams in their eighty-third years are living active, productive, inspiring lives. Although Mrs. Adams’ special field is creating music for children, her compositions cover a wide range. A number of instruction books and studies for the piano for the first through the fifth grades have 296 THE SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER June 1941 had been published. Her piano solos, as well as her duets, are often used. Truly her songs are very beautiful; one of them, Spring, was selected by the National League of American Pen-Women to appear on its musical program presented at the White House, April 17, 1936. Another Away in The Manger was translated into Arabic and sung in Palestine and Nazareth. Her Worship Songs for Beginners, Worship Songs for Primaries and Worship Songs for Youths have been used widely in Sunday schools, private schools, and camps. She has also edited a number of piano compositions. Closely connected with her musical composing is her writing of books about music and the teaching of music. An outstanding work is her Studies in Hymnology*. Mrs. Adams has devoted her life to a crusade for a better type of music in the churches of America and has been particularly zealous in her efforts to have children and young people taught the great classics of sacred music. William MacPhail, president of the MacPhail School of Music in Minneapolis, said that he wished every Christian in America could read her book on Hymnology. Mrs. Adams� musical philosophy is clear-cut and ideal. She believes that the student, in order to become an artist must be inspired with the desire to express the beautiful in music. To be able to reveal the beautiful, he must make a serious study of the best musical literature. She says, �There must indeed be a discriminating taste shown by every teacher who would build into the life of each pupil an enduring taste for good music. The greatest thing any teacher can do for his pupils is to give them cultivated musical taste. To put into practice these ideals she has emphasized several teaching principles which have made her a pioneer as a musical educator. One postulate which she has advocated is to present the music to pupils in an orderly fashion assigning first grade material first and so on through the several grades. Another principle is to teach the beginners only good music, that is, it should be �child-like but not childish.� (The lack of enough such musical literature led her to compose music for beginners in particular.) Still another of her theories is to have beginners develop skill by presenting a wide range of material, introducing the use of all major and minor tonalities, and assigning exercises to develop ambidexterity. Again she states that a plan to follow in instructing music teachers is to present to them a carefully worked out series of the best musical literature well organized under the several grades in sequence. Mrs. Adams� connections with organizations both national and local illustrate her close touch with the musical world. In 1880 she joined the Music Teachers� National Association, and in 1936 at its meeting in Chicago an honorary life membership was presented to her and for a number of years she has served on its Executive Board. She has been associated for many years with the National Federation for Music Clubs and served on its National Board at one time. She has been honored by having a life membership conferred upon her in that organization in 1923. Also, she belongs to the National Association of America Composers and Conductors, the Hymn Society of New York City, and Friends of Music of Washington, D.C. An honorary membership has been bestowed upon her in a number of other clubs: Saturday Music Club, Wednesday Morning Musicale and Delta Kappa Gamma, all of Asheville. Also in Mu Phi Epsilon, Delta Chapter in Detroit, Michigan. Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, granted to the pioneer musical leader and eminent composer an honorary degree in Doctor of Music in recognition of her outstanding contributions and influence in the musical world. The president of the college, Dr. R.P. Pell, well expressed the sentiment of all who know Mrs. Adams� work , when he said: �In conferring the honorary degree of Doctor of Music, Mrs. Adams, Converse College desires not merely to show formal recognition of your many outstanding contributions and achievements in the filed of musical endeavor, but more especially to express to you through this Degree our deep appreciation of your great work and greater influence as an educator and musical missionary in the Southland. Converse College is honored.� North Carolina, her adopted Sate, has paid respect to her in many ways. The North Carolina Federation of Women�s Clubs voted Mrs. Adams the outstanding woman musician of the State in 1926, which meant that her name would be presented at the Sesqui-Centennial Exposition _______ *Cokesbury Press, Nashville, TN 1941 GROWING THINGS-POTTED PLANT 297 in Philadelphia as the woman musician who had done most for the music progress in North Carolinas. In 1934 Salem College recognized her in its Year Book as one of the four outstanding women in North Carolina. Many other tokens of esteem have been lavished upon her. Mrs. Adams cherishes the very best in music for herself and for others and has made her life a pattern for symphonic understanding, �And never yet was anything seen so beautiful or so artistic as a beautiful life.� She sees �beautiful meanings in beautiful things.� Her mother and father desired the best to be uppermost in the life their daughter, and they made every effort to give her opportunities to develop her God-given talents. To them, she gives the meed of praise. Her husband, too, has shared in the unfolding of her artistic self. Mr. and Mrs. Adams have lived together in perfect accordance; therefore, their married life of fifty-seven years has been an ideal of loveliness; as Mrs. Adams says, �I owe to Mr. Adams much for the inspiration of both teaching and composing. It is exceedingly helpful to persons to have someone believe in them and encourage them in their endeavors. Together we have walked down life�s highway with a harmony of purpose and a complete understanding and appreciation of each other.� The world pays tribute, the Nation pays tribute, the South pays tribute to this beloved composer. GROWING THINGS FRANCES DICKINSON PINDER A music drifts upon the orchard dusk That gathers of its own, apart— Young music, with the joy of wings, The flight-song of the heart. Upon its crest all beauty of desire, The tears, the rainbow strife of spring— Largesse of love, that sows, improvident Of tilth, of harvesting. But we, though debtor to the starry bough, Our lips grown unaccustomed, mute, Dare not lay finger on a single flower, Nor pluck its casual fruit. POTTED PLANT STANTON A. COBLENTZ We freed the plant whose bunched, tormented roots Squeezed vainly at the pot�s constricting hold. And, in the ground, its sprouted queenlier shoots, And blossoms of more gracious rose and gold. Thus, too, we thought, with many a human flower Whose roots are pressed and cramped as in a vise! Yet how to burst the shell, and loose the power The seed was born with, but the soil denies?
Mrs. Crosby Adams’ dolls.
In this booklet, Mrs. Crosby Adams, noted composer and piano teacher, offers her account of a Moravian Easter service conducted at the Moravian Village in Winston-Salem., N.C. (ca. 1916). This account was originally published in “The Music News” Chicago, June 9, 1916. (8″x5 1/2″ booklet, 16p.)
This photograph of Mr. Crosby Adams, choral director and teacher of music theory, appeared in the Asheville Citizen Times in February 27 & 28, 1951 in his obituary. This photograph was used many times during Mr. Adams’ lifetime in brochures and other publicity associated with the Aeolian Choir and his other musical interests.
Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams, noted musicians living in Montreat, N.C., celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on September 18, 1933, at a special event planned by their friends. Mr. and Mrs. Adams prepared this acknowledgment card for those who participated. (2 3/4″ x 5 1/4″ card)
Cover of “Great Hymns Youth Should Know,” one of an octavo series of hymns arranged by Mrs. Adams and intended for use in teaching church music to young people. This particular piece is No. 3 in the series, published in 1933 by Onward Press.
Mrs. Crosby Adams received this honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, N.C. on May 28, 1945.
Hymnology
This is the inscription on a photograph of noted musician, Mrs. Crosby Adams, when she received an honorary degree from Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina (Greensboro, N.C.) in 1945. The inscription, in Mrs. Adams’ handwriting, states, “With every good wish to Agnes Martin with many happy memories of her rare hospitality. Mrs. Crosby Adams, October 19th., 1945”. The signature of the photographer, Clara E. Lipperd,(?) also appears on the right. Agnes Martin was a music student of Mrs. Adams. (2 3/4″x9 1/2″ inscription attached to photograph)
Mrs. H.H.A. Beach and Mrs. Crosby Adams were musical contemporaries. In this letter, written on February 10, 1941, from New York City, American composer Mrs. H.H.A. Beach speaks of her health and mentions a musicale she will be attending. Beach also comments on Marian MacDowell’s recent visit to New York and compliments Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams on their prominent roles in a recent convention of the Music Teachers National Association (7 3/4″ x 5″ folded stationary, 3rd. page of 4 page letter)
This is a photograph The Log Cabin, in the MacDowell Colony in Petersborough, New Hampshire. This photograph was sent to Mrs. Crosby Adams by Edward MacDowell’s wife Marian. Mrs. Adams raised funds to establish and maintain the artist colony that Edward and Marian MacDowell started. Mrs. Adams and Mrs. MacDowell were friends and corresponded frequently.
This pamphlet provides a review of Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams’ summer class in Chicago, as written by Charles E. Watt, Editor of The Music News, Chicago, August 24, 1917. This pamphlet includes a photograph of Mrs. Adams and excerpts from letters of appreciation from her former students.
This brochure announced summer classes conducted, by Mrs. Crosby Adams, for piano teachers. Two sessions were held, in July and August ca. 1907, in the Oak Park, Illinois studio of Mrs. Crosby Adams. This brochure describes the purpose and content of the classes and provides schedule and tuition
This is a program for a Christmas piano recital given by one of Mrs. Crosby Adams’ music classes on December 15, 1928 at Mrs. Adams’ home, The House in the Woods, in Montreat, N.C. The “Going-Away Dolls” were dolls donated by the students to be given away to mountain children.
Mrs. Crosby Adams, noted musician, died on November 9, 1951 at the age of 93 in Montreat, N.C. This obituary appeared on the front page of The Asheville Citizen on November 10, 1951. (p.3 of obituary)
A brochure containing a graded list of the musical writings of Mrs. Crosby Adams, published by the Clayton F. Summy Co.
This introductory article appeared in a brochure containing a graded list of the musical writings of Mrs. Crosby Adams published by the Clayton F. Summy Co. 1 page
Mrs. Crosby Adams composed children’s piano literature as well as piano solos, duets, and songs. She also wrote several books and instructional books that were widely used by piano teachers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 8 1/2″x5 1/2
Mrs. Crosby Adams designed this repertoire book for the use of her piano students. It included lined paper for the student to enter memorized compositions that would become part of the student’s repertoire that he or she could play for impromptu recitals. Copies were 20 cents each.
This information about Mrs. Crosby Adams is found in North Carolina Composers as represented in the Holograph Collection, by Hermene Warlick Eicchorn and Treva Wilkerson Mathis (1945). The Music Holograph Collection housed in Special Collections at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro contains a number of Mrs. Adams’ compositions, including some in manuscript form.
This is the program for the Seventeenth Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs, held October 20, 1943, at the S.& W. Cafeteria in Asheville, N.C. Mrs. Crosby Adams performed several of her piano compositions. This program was dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams in honor of their sixtieth wedding anniversary.
This is the cover of the program for the Thirty-Fifth Annual Convention of the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs held April 11-14, 1951 in High Point, N.C. Mrs. Crosby Adams was an Honorary and Life member of the organization.
This obituary for Mrs. Crosby Adams appeared under The Hymn Society of America section of The Diapason, December 1, 1951, volume 43, page 34. The obituary notes that Mrs. Adams was a long time member of the Hymn Society and received an honorary membership in the society in 1948. It also notes her association with Montreat College, Montreat, N.C. (8 1/2″ x 11″)
This is the cover of the Official Souvenir Program for the Second Annual Asheville Music Festival, held August 8-13, 1921 in Asheville, N.C. Mrs. Crosby Adams served on the Music Committee.
This is the cover of the Official Program of the 13th Biennial Convention of the National Federation of Music Clubs held in Asheville, N.C., June 9-17, 1923. Mrs. Crosby Adams served on the Board of Directors. She also served on the Local Biennial Committee and was an accompanist for the 1923 convention. Mr. Crosby Adams was a choral director for the convention.
This is a photograph of the interior of the House-In-the-Woods, the Montreat, N.C. home and music studio of noted musicians, Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams. The couple lived here from 1913 to 1951. Mrs. Adams gave piano lessons, taught music teachers, and entertained friends here.
This is a photograph of Juliette Graves Adams as a young woman. The date of the photograph is unknown but it is the earliest photograph of her existing in the Crosby Adams Music Collection. The photo may have been made prior to her marriage to Crosby Adams
This is a photograph of Juliette Graves Adams as a young woman. The date of the photograph is unknown but it is the earliest photograph of her existing in the Crosby Adams Music Collection. The photo may have been made prior to her marriage to Crosby Adams
This photograph (ca.1940’s) shows Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams standing outside their home and music studio in Montreat, North Carolina. The photograph was made by photograph Edith Winifred Tait. (7 3/4″x 5 3/4″ b&w)
This photograph was taken of Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams standing in front of their music library in their Montreat, North Carolina home. The photograph was taken ca. 1949 with Mrs. Adams was 91 years of age. 6 1/2″ x 4 1/2″
This is a photograph of Mr. Crosby Adams, choral director and teacher of music theory, who lived in Montreat, N.C. from 1913 to 1951. This photograph was made by Edith Winifred Tait in the early twentieth century.
This photograph of Mrs. Crosby Adams was probably made ca. 1930. Her photographs were often used in articles by and about her and in brochures prepared by her music publisher. 6 7/8″ x 5
A photograph taken in 1945 when Mrs. Crosby Adams received an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, N.C. 8 3/4″ x 6 7/8″ black & white
This photograph of Mrs. Crosby Adams was taken in 1948 at a luncheon, in Chicago, in her honor. Mr. and Mrs. Adams were guests of honor at the 19th. annual Chicagoland Music Festival held at Soldiers Field in August 1948. The festival was sponsored by Chicago Tribune Charities, Inc. 8″ x 10″
Photograph of The House-In-The-Woods, the home and music studio of Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams. Built in Montreat, N.C. in 1913, the home became a mecca for music lovers. It was the site for the annual summer classes for music teachers as well as many students
This article about Mrs. Crosby Adam’s piano compositions appears in a pamphlet entitled, “Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams: Musicians of Note.”
This article, entitled, “Pleasant Memories of an Old Friend” was written by Mrs. George C. Eichhorn following Mr. Crosby Adams’ death in 1951. Mrs. Eichhorn was acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Adams and had attended the 1949 convention of the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs.
This is a program for the seventh recital given by the Wildewood Choir and piano students of the Music Department of Wildewood School in Montreat, N.C. on June 6, 1917. Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams directed the music program.
Program of piano music given by Mrs. Crosby Adams in celebration of her 90th. birthday. It was performed in Anderson College Auditorium in Anderson, South Carolina. Mrs. Adams gave a performance on her birthday every year through her 92nd. year.
This is the cover of a program for a piano recital given by Miss Li Faung Wang, a student of Mrs. Crosby Adams. The recital was held at the Woman’s Club House on Sunset Parkway in Asheville, N.C. on June 15, 1927.
This instructional booklet, by Mrs Crosby Adams, contains two articles merged into one. “Recent Developments in Teaching Children to Play the Piano” was given before the Music Teacher’s National Association at their forty-third annual meeting held in Detroit in December, 1921. “A Cultivated Musical Taste” was presented at the annual session of the Music Teachers of North Carolina, in Raleigh, November 1915. 23 pages
Piano composition for children, Op. 35 of Mrs. Crosby Adams’ compositions.
This pamphlet tells about the Song Valentines available from Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams for St. Valentine’s Day. The cover provides reduced images of the sketches for each valentine. The music was composed by Mrs. Crosby Adams. The words, music, and illustrations were designed to appeal to children. The valentines were 25 cents each and were available from Mr. Crosby Adams at their Oak Park, IL. home. (7 1/4″ x 5 1/4″ pamphlet)
This brochure describes a mid-winter class for piano teachers conducted by Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams in 1907 in their Oak Park, Illinois residence. The class was scheduled from December 4th. to the 17th., 1907 and included teaching material compiled and presented by Mrs. Adams.
This book traces the early development of church music and encourages the appreciation of the classics in sacred music. The book grew out of a lecture series on hymnology presented to the Woman’s Auxiliary of the Presbyterian Church in July 1929, in Montreat N.C. The National Federation of Music Clubs recommended the book for use in educating younger generations about classic hymns.
This is the cover of the first publication of Studies in Hymnology (1929) by Mrs. Crosby Adams. It was republished in hard cover in 1938 by Cokesbury Press when the author was 80 years of age. Intended primarily for use by study and discussion groups, the book traced the early development of church music.
This article describes a typical Sunday afternoon gathering at the Montreat, N.C. home of Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams. The article was written by Mrs. Adams’ biographer and appeared in a 1949 (?) issue of the State Magazine (Columbia, South Carolina). 2 pages
This is a brief overview of Mrs. Crosby Adams’ classes for teachers of piano. The first summer class for teachers was held in Chicago in 1902. Later, classes were conducted in Mrs. Adams’ home study in Montreat, North Carolina. This summary is taken from a pamphlet entitled “Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams; Musicians of Note.
This brochure contains a brief account and photos about the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire.
Mrs. Crosby Adams, noted composer of piano music for children, was an Honorary Life Member of The Friday Book Club of Asheville, N.C., as noted in this memberhsip list from the 1936-1937 program.
The House-in-the-Woods was the home and music studio of Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams, noted musicians who lived in Montreat, North Carllina from 1913 to 1951. Mr. Adams designed and supervised the construction of the house. This photograph appeared in several of the brochures created by Mr. and Mrs. Adams to announce their music teacher’s classes. (6 1/8″ x 9 1/4″ B&W photo in brochure)
Mrs. Crosby Adams was listed in The International Who Is Who In Music (5th. edition,1951, edited by Dr. J.T.H. Mize). Her biography notes that she is an American piano teacher, composer, lecturer, and author. This is the title page of that book.
This is the biographical entry for Mrs. Crosby Adams, noted American pianist, from The International Who Is Who In Music, fifth edition, 1951, edited by Dr. J.T.H. Mize. (page 5, 12 1/4″ x 9″ book)
This instructional booklet was written by Mrs. Crosby Adams and published by the Clayton F. Summy Co. in 1923. This booklet is written for those who teach music to children and includes poems that will appeal to children and stimulate their imaginations at various stages of their musical development. (7 1/4″ x 4 1/2″ booklet, 16 p.)
This address by Mrs. Crosby Adams was reprinted from the M.T.N.A. Proceedings, 1934 (Music Teachers National Association). Mrs. Adams pays tribute to Edward MacDowell, describes the purpose of the MacDowell Colony, and encourages support for the completion of the Endowment Fund. (8 3/4″x5 3/4″ front page of reprint, 3p.)
“This list of Mrs. Crosby Adams’ compositions published by the Crosby Adams Press, Oak Park, Illinois, is printed on the cover of the score for Mrs. Adams’ “A Christmas Carol for Little Folks.”
This article on music appreciation and the value of music in our daily lives was published in The Musical Observer, August/September 1929. 3 pages
The Crosby Adams School of Music, established in 1892 in Chicago, offered the first all-year course for teacher-training in Public School Music in America. The Department of Public School Music and the Methods offered a course designed for students who wanted to prepare as teachers and supervisors of music in the public schools. This article by Mrs. Adams was published in, the periodical, Music in March, 1901. 5 pages
Piano compositions for children. Op. 21 of Mrs. Crosby Adams’ compositions.
In 1913, Mrs. Crosby Adams wrote this pamphlet on Edward MacDowell’s work. MacDowell and his wife corresponded with Mrs. Adams and valued her opinion on musical matters. This pamphlet was privately published by Mr. Crosby Adams while living in Oak Park, IL. When this edition was exhausted, the pamphlet was issued in the series of educational booklets published by the Clayton F. Summy Company of Chicago. 23 pages
This collection of worship songs includes three compositions by Mrs. Crosby Adams, No. 1 Father, We Will Quiet Be, no. 34 Away in a Manger, and no. 56, Song of the Sea. Published in 1929, this collection was designed for use by teachers with young children in church schools, Sunday Schools, and camps.
Mr. Crosby Adams, choral director and teacher of music theory, often recited this passage on “Youth” during Mrs. Adams’ musical programs and for guests in their home at Montreat, N.C. Mr. and Mrs. Adams sent copies of “Youth” to many of their friends, students and colleagues. (7″ x 5 1/4″)
This photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Crosby Adams was taken in their music studio at their Montreat, North Carolina home ca. 1949 when Mrs. Adams was 91 years of age. 6 1/2″ x 4 1/2″