Carrie B. Wilson Adams

Carrie Belle (Wilson) Adams (1859–1940) was the first American woman to conduct a public performance of Handel's oratorio, "Messiah." An Ohio native and musical child prodigy who performed in concert for the first time at age seven, she spent much of her life in Indiana, where she was a choral conductor and organist. By the time of her death in Portland, Oregon, she had also become one of the most prolific American composers, completing 4,000 anthems, 12 cantatas, and 28 operettas during her lifetime.
Formative years.
Born in Oxford, Ohio on July 28, 1858 (alternate birth date June 29, 1859), Carrie Belle Wilson was the oldest child of Allie (Myers) Wilson and David Wilson, a songwriter and music educator. Her mother was also a musician.
As the American Civil War was waged across a major portion of the United States during the early 1860s, Carrie Wilson was studying music with her father. By the time the war was over, she had made her debut. A child prodigy, she sang for a convention of musicians in Millville, Ohio, when she was just seven years old. According to biographer Jacob Henry Hull, she was also "a brilliant pianist and accompanist from her girlhood days."
In 1872, she and her parents and five siblings moved to Paris, Illinois, where her father founded the Paris Musical Institute. Three years later, at the age of 16, she published an anthem – the first of many compositions she would pen over the years. By 1876, she was serving as the organist and choir director for the Paris Presbyterian Church.
Family life and professional music career.
On July 21, 1880, Carrie Belle Wilson married amateur playwright Allyn G. Adams. She then relocated with her husband to Terre Haute, Indiana in 1882. Their son, Stanley, was born on October 18, 1887.
From 1887 to 1896, she was employed as a professor of music at the Indiana State Normal School (now Indiana State University), and also chaired the music department there. In addition, she served as conductor of The Choral, Rose Polytechnic Glee and Treble Clef clubs and The Terre Haute Oratorio Society. In 1893, she published her musical play, "The National Flower." By the time of her retirement from the university three years later, she had completed work on 12 cantatas, 4,000 anthems, and 28 operettas.
Following her husband's retirement, she relocated with him in 1920 to Portland, Oregon to be closer to her son, Stanley. After 16 years together in Portland, her husband widowed her in 1936. In addition to playing the pipe organ for the First Congregational Church (Portland, Oregon), she became an associate editor with "The Choir Herald", and continued to compose music into her early 80s. According to a 1936 article in "Time" magazine, "In Portland, Ore. last week Mrs. Adams sent off to her publishers four new anthems, baked a jelly cake, [and] celebrated her 77th birthday." Among the works completed in later life was the cantata, "The Easter Triumph." Completed in 1940, it was published posthumously.
Illness, death and interment.
Suffering from a heart condition, Carrie Belle (Wilson) Adams was admitted to a private hospital in Portland, Oregon, for treatment sometime in late November or early December 1940. She remained there for several weeks until her death on December 15, 1940. She was 81 at the time of her passing.
According to a statement made to "The Oregonian" by a representative of her longtime publisher, Lorenz Publishing Co., "Adams' compositions [were being performed] each Sunday by an average of 300,000 choir singers" at the time of her death. Dr. Raymond B. Walker, the pastor of Portland's First Congregational Church officiated at her funeral services, which were held at J. P. Finley & Son on December 18, 1940.
She was survived by her brother, Charles E. Wilson, and sister, Merle Wilson, who were both residing in Portland, as well as a daughter-in-law, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren. Her son, Stanley, had preceded her in death six months earlier.
Titles of works created.
1890s:
1900s:
1910s:
1920s:
1930s:
Posthumous publication: