Alma Mehus
Alma Mehus | |
---|---|
Born | December 3, 1902 Brinsmade, North Dakota, U.S. |
Died | April 9, 2001 (age 98) Devils Lake, North Dakota, U.S. |
Other names | Alma Studness |
Occupation(s) | Pianist, arts administrator |
Alma Mehus Studness (December 3, 1902 – April 9, 2001) was an American pianist in the 1920s, and an arts community leader in North Dakota through the mid-twentieth century. In 1995 she made a large donation to the University of North Dakota to create the Chautauqua Gallery in Devils Lake.
Early life and education
[edit]Mehus was born on a farm near Brinsmade, North Dakota, and raised in Fessenden, the daughter of Mikkel K. Mehus and Anne Myking Mehus.[1][2] Both of her parents were Norwegian immigrants. Her family was musical; her father played violin, and her older sister Belle was Mehus's first piano teacher.[3] She won a statewide piano contest for high school students in 1919.[4] She studied at the American Conservatory of Music under Josef Lhevinne and Cora Kiesselbach, with Adele aus der Ohe in Europe,[5] and at the Curtis Institute of Music with Moriz Rosenthal.[6]
Career
[edit]To supplement her scholarship at the American Conservatory of Music, Mehus played piano at Chicago hotels and events. In 1922 she toured as a pianist on the Chautauqua circuit in the American West. She toured in Germany, Norway, and Italy, and was the youngest American to appear as a soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic, when she played a Tchaikovsky concerto there in 1924.[7] In 1925 she toured as a concert pianist in North Dakota. She toured the United States in 1926 and 1927,[8] and performed on radio concerts.[9]
After she married in 1929, Mehus taught music, and was active with her sister Belle in promoting the arts in North Dakota.[10][11] She was a member of the North Dakota Council of the Arts, and a founder of the Devils Lake Music Teachers Association. She was inducted into the North Dakota Hall of Fame in 1932. She continued giving concerts,[2][6] and she was a guest artist at the annual music festival of the North Dakota Federation of Music Clubs in 1934.[12]
Studness received the Governor's Award for the Arts in 1989.[13][14] In 1995, she made a major donation to the University of North Dakota, to open the Chautauqua gallery in Devils Lake.[15]
Publications
[edit]- "Lessons Under Adele Aus der Ohe" (1926)[5]
Personal life and legacy
[edit]Mehus married Leo Studness in 1929. They had a daughter, Anne-Marit,[14] and a son, Charles.[11] Her husband died in 1993, and Alma Studness died in 2001, at the age of 98, in Devils Lake.[13] Mehus, her sister, and her daughter were the subjects of a biography, Roses of the Prairie: The Artistry of Belle Mehus, Alma Mehus Studness, and Anne-Marit Studness (2019) by LaWayne Leno.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ Eriksmoen, Curt (2011-02-13). "Alma Mehus was a talented pianist". The Bismarck Tribune. p. 25. Retrieved 2025-01-03 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Alma Mehus, N.D. Pianist To Give Moorhead Concert". The Forum. 1947-11-16. p. 21. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Miss Alma Mehus Real 'Wonder Child' Survey of Musical Career Indicates". Grand Forks Herald. 1925-03-22. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "State High School Music Contest". The Quarterly Journal of the University of North Dakota. 10 (4): 454. July 1920.
- ^ a b Mehus, Alma. "Lessons Under Adele Aus der Ohe" Pan Pipes of Sigma Alpha Iota 17(2)(February 1926): 115-116.
- ^ a b "Alma Mehus in Program Here". The Forum. 1934-10-21. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Alma Mehus". Music News. 19: 13. January 14, 1927.
- ^ Nilsson, Victor (1927-02-27). "Famous Artists and Orchestra in Notable Programs". The Minneapolis Journal. p. 38. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Alma Mehus Signs Chicago Contract". Grand Forks Herald. 1926-06-04. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Did You Know That: Mehus sisters reinvested their musical talents in ND". InForum. 2011-02-06. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- ^ a b Zaiser, Catherine (1989-06-04). "A Musical Family". The Forum. p. 71. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Famous Tenor, Pianist to Appear as Guest Artists". Grand Forks Herald. 1934-05-06. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Alma Studness Obituary". The Bismarck Tribune, via Legacy.com. April 9, 2001. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- ^ a b Dunavan, Naomi (1992-12-25). "Art in the Family; 'A Christmas Medley' celebrates four generations of artists in one family". Grand Forks Herald. p. 17. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lind, Bob (1995-12-10). "Chautauqua Gallery Opens in Devils Lake". The Forum. p. 29. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Leno, LaWayne (2019). Roses of the prairie: the artistry of Belle Mehus, Alma Mehus Studness, and Anne-Marit Studness Bergstrom. Edina, MN: Beaver's Pond Press. ISBN 978-1-64343-995-2.