Nevada Van der Veer

Nevada Van der Veer Miller (July 25, 1884 – September 26, 1958) was an American contralto singer.

Nevada Van der Veer, from a 1921 publication.

Early life

Emma Nevada Van der Veer was born in New York, the daughter of George Wyckoff Van der Veer and Jennie Lind Catlin Van der Veer. She was named for the American opera singer Emma Nevada.[1][2] She studied music in New York and Boston, with further studies in England.[3]

Career

Nevada Van der Veer was a paid contralto soloist at two New York City churches, Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas and Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church,[4] and at Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn.[5] She maintained a busy touring and schedule in the 1920s,[6][7][8] both before after giving her first solo recital at Aeolian Hall in 1920.[9] Her voice was described as "powerful, but always smooth and velvety in quality, no matter how loudly she sings."[10]

Van der Veer made several recordings between 1911 and 1925, including with the Victor Light Opera Company, and several with her husband Reed Miller, in duet or quartet arrangements.[11] In 1923, she sang at the grave of Susan B. Anthony, during an event organized by the National Woman's Party.[12] When New York radio station WABC (AM) began in 1926, Van der Veer was featured in the live on-air concert that started their programming.[13]

In 1921 and 1922, Van der Veer and her husband ran a "summer vocal school" for young singers near Lake George, New York.[14][15][16] She was head of the voice department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, from 1934 until her retirement in 1949.[17][18] She was a member of the New York Singing Teachers Association.[19]

Personal life

Nevada Van der Veer married Reed Miller, a noted tenor.[20] She was widowed in 1923,[21][22] and she died in 1958, aged 74 years, in New York.[17]

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References
  1. Advertisement, Osawatomie Graphic (January 8, 1920): 5. via Newspapers.com
  2. "Singer of Wide Experience Will be Here Feb. 13" Jacksonville Daily Journal (May 19, 1932): 5. via Newspapers.com
  3. "Noted Contralto Will Be Heard in Portland May 18" Oregon Daily Journal (May 1, 1910): 57. via Newspapers.com
  4. "Van der Veer Accepts New Church Position with Record Salary" Music News (March 11, 1921): 16.
  5. "New Position for Mme. Van der Veer" Musical America (March 12, 1921): 8.
  6. "Nevada Van der Veer in Recital" Music News (January 7, 1921): 24.
  7. "Van der Meer and Miller Booked for Five Weeks Tour" Music News (January 14, 1921): 20.
  8. "Mme. Van der Veer Heard" New York Times (March 27, 1929): 37. via ProQuest
  9. "Van Der Veer's Recital a Triumph" Musical Courier (May 6, 1920): 58.
  10. "Nevada Van der Veer, Mezzo-Contralto" Musical Courier (April 15, 1920): 25.
  11. Nevada Van der Veer, Discography of American Historical Recordings, UC Santa Barbara Library.
  12. "5,000 Pay Tribute to Susan B. Anthony" New York Times (July 23, 1923): 13. via ProQuest
  13. "WAHG to Use A New Call This Week" New York Times (December 12, 1926): XX21. via ProQuest
  14. "Combining your Work and your Hobby According to the Plans of Mr. and Mrs. Reed Miller" Music News (April 28, 1922): 33.
  15. "Van der Veer" Music News (May 27, 1921): 32.
  16. "Second Season of Reed Millers' Summer School" Music News (May 5, 1922): 27.
  17. "Mme. Van der Veer, Singer, Teacher, 74" New York Times (September 27, 1958): 21.
  18. Lilian Campbell, "Singer's Hobby Decoration of her Home and Garden" Quad City Times (February 28, 1937): 17. via Newspapers.com
  19. "Obituaries" New York Times (September 28, 1958): 89. via ProQuest
  20. "Their Recital Enjoyable" New York Times (December 4, 1913): 9. via ProQuest
  21. "Tenor Dies" Winnipeg Tribune (January 12, 1924): 3. via Newspapers.com
  22. Emmala Reed, A Faithful Heart: The Journals of Emmala Reed, 1865 and 1866 (University of South Carolina Press 2004): 262. ISBN 9781570035456
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