1953 · New Kensington, Pa
by Ramos-Harris, Ethel
New Kensington, Pa: The Ramos-Harris Music Publishing Co, 1953. Very good. 12” x 9”. Bifolium printed all four sides + loose printed leaf of music + laid in modern photocopy of funeral program of composer. Pp. 3. Very good: moderate edge wear and a few tears repaired with scotch tape; inscribed by the composer on the cover.
This unrecorded sheet music documents a female composer, Ethel Ramos-Harris, her publishing company, and the dedication of Delta Sigma Theta's national headquarters.
The little we know of Ramos-Harris comes from the included copy of her funeral program which states that she was born in Rhode Island in 1905 and that she was a “composer, concert pianist, radio artist, teacher, lecturer, civic and social leader.” She graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1927 and in 1933 began her radio career as the 'Sophisticated Lady' on Station KDKA in Pittsburgh. She also gave concerts throughout the United States and internationally, and claimed 41 copyrights of musical compositions. She was the treasurer of the National Association of Negro Women and the funeral program also shared:
“her musical career was multidimensional from the concert hall, to fashion concerts where she performed and modeled her own clothes, to Broadway where she rehearsed for 'Leave it to Me,' with Sophie Tucker and 'Caribbean Cruise' with Martha Raye. In Pittsburgh she was the pianist for productions of the National Negro Opera Company. Rather then leave her family, she declined an opportunity to tour with the European company of 'Porgy and Bess.'”
The only known published work by an important but lesser known African American composer and civic leader. OCLC locates no copies, nor anything else by the publisher. (Inventory #: 8798)
This unrecorded sheet music documents a female composer, Ethel Ramos-Harris, her publishing company, and the dedication of Delta Sigma Theta's national headquarters.
The little we know of Ramos-Harris comes from the included copy of her funeral program which states that she was born in Rhode Island in 1905 and that she was a “composer, concert pianist, radio artist, teacher, lecturer, civic and social leader.” She graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1927 and in 1933 began her radio career as the 'Sophisticated Lady' on Station KDKA in Pittsburgh. She also gave concerts throughout the United States and internationally, and claimed 41 copyrights of musical compositions. She was the treasurer of the National Association of Negro Women and the funeral program also shared:
“her musical career was multidimensional from the concert hall, to fashion concerts where she performed and modeled her own clothes, to Broadway where she rehearsed for 'Leave it to Me,' with Sophie Tucker and 'Caribbean Cruise' with Martha Raye. In Pittsburgh she was the pianist for productions of the National Negro Opera Company. Rather then leave her family, she declined an opportunity to tour with the European company of 'Porgy and Bess.'”
The only known published work by an important but lesser known African American composer and civic leader. OCLC locates no copies, nor anything else by the publisher. (Inventory #: 8798)
(713) 443-4697![[Archive of Manuscripts and Correspondence Related to Accomplished Short-Story Writer Which Also Highlights the Career of a Female Literary Agent]](https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/337/921/1690921337.0.m.jpg)
