Helena Stone Torgerson
American harpist and composer
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Helena Stone Torgerson (1878 – September 9, 1941) was an American harpist and composer of harp music, based in Chicago.
1878
Helena Stone Torgerson | |
|---|---|
 Helena Stone Torgerson, from a 1918 publication | |
| Born | Helena Stone 1878 Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Died | (aged 63) Rapid City, South Dakota |
| Occupations | Harpist, composer |
| Years active | 1896–1941 |
Early life
Helena Stone was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the daughter of Frank A. Stone and India E. Colestock Stone. Her father was a manufacturer.[1]
Career
Helena Stone played harp at public events from her teenaged years.[2] In 1899 she replaced Edmund Schuecker as harpist of the Bruno Steindel Concert Company.[3] She was listed among the best-known women harpists in the United States in 1908,[4] and in 1926 Torgerson was described as "Chicago's best woman harpist."[5]
Torgerson performed as a solo harpist and in ensemble,[6] and sometimes played her own compositions.[7] She also gave talks about harp music and the history of the instrument.[8][9] She had a custom-made concert harp, "built on larger scale than is commonly used", for "bigness and resonance of the tone".[10] "Mrs. Torgerson plays the harp in an altogether superior way," commented one writer in 1913, adding that "besides possessing transcendent technic for the instrument, she is a thorough musician and has abundant good taste in interpretation."[11]
Torgerson also taught harp and composed harp music. She studied composition with Adolf Weidig in Chicago.[12] She dedicated her composition "The Squirrel" (1915) to "my little son".[13] Torgerson published Harp Music, a collection of harp pieces organized for teaching purposes.[14]
Personal life
Helena Stone Torgerson married Lloyd R. Torgerson and had a son, Frank Stone Torgerson.[1] She died from a stroke in 1941, aged 63 years, in Rapid City, South Dakota, while touring.[15][16]
