Prudence Neff

Prudence Maria Neff (June 9, 1887 – December 23, 1949) was an American pianist and music teacher, based in Alabama as a young woman, and in Chicago for the rest of her career.

Prudence Neff
Prudence Neff, from a 1915 publication
Born	June 9, 1887 Nebraska City, Nebraska
Died	December 23, 1949 (aged 62) Chicago, Illinois
Other names	Prudence Dolejsi, Prudence Neff Thomas
Occupation(s)	Music teacher, pianist

Early life

Prudence Neff was born in Nebraska City, Nebraska, and raised in Chicago, the daughter of Anton Neff and Theresa Meyer Neff. Her father, who worked for the railroad, was born in Switzerland.^[1] At the Chicago Musical College, she studied piano with Glenn Dillard Gunn, and music theory with Adolphe Brune and Felix Borowski.^[2] Her "All-American" education was a selling point for Neff as a performer during the 1910s.^[3]

Career

Neff was a concert pianist who toured the United States with Hugo Heermann and Maggie Teyte.^[4][5] She taught piano at Englewood Musical College in Chicago as a young woman,^[2] and at the Southern School of Musical Art in Birmingham, Alabama.^[6][7] In 1914, she gave the first performance of Felix Borowski's Piano Concerto in D Minor, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.^[8][9][10] She also played with the Russian Symphony Orchestra of New York.^[11] In 1915, she won a Southern regional piano contest, held by the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) in Memphis.^[4][6] She represented the Birmingham Music Study Club at the NFMC national meeting in Los Angeles in 1915.^[12][13] "Prudence Neff has within a few years attained a degree of success rarely reached by the young aspirant to musical honors," said The Musical Monitor.^[4] She chaired the program committee of the NFMC in 1917, when its national biennial meeting was held in Birmingham.^[14][15] Also in 1917, she gave concerts on the lyceum circuit with her violinist husband.^[16]

After her first marriage ended, she moved back to Chicago, and taught piano there at the Glenn Dillard Gunn School of Music.^[17][18] She appeared on vaudeville programs in 1919.^[19] She continued performing through the 1920s and 1930s,^[20] often as an accompanist;^[21][22] she also made piano roll recordings,^[23] and gave concerts for radio.^[24] In 1933 she directed a choir of 30 voices in Palos Park.^[25]

Personal life

In 1915, Neff married a fellow music teacher, Chicago-born Bohemian violinist Robert Dolejsi.^[26][27] They sometimes performed together in concerts.^[5][28][29] After they divorced, she married Wade H. Thomas; he died in 1933. She died in 1949, in Chicago, at the age of 62.^[23][30]

References

1. "Former Resident Dies in Chicago". Nebraska Daily News-Press. 1928-09-26. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "A Musical Treat". The Weekly Wymorean. 1907-09-26. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "An All-American Concert Plan of Muskogee Clubs". Muskogee Times-Democrat. 1915-09-15. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Miss Prudence Neff, Birmingham, Alabama". The Musical Monitor. 4: 424. June 1915.
5. "Benefit Recital for Miss Prudence Neff". The Birmingham News. 1915-05-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
6. A.H.C. (May 15, 1915). "Birmingham Girl Winner of Piano Contest in South". Musical America. 22: 33.
7. "Prudence Neff Wins in Contest; Birmingham Woman Will Represent South in Los Angeles This Summer". The Birmingham News. 1915-04-24. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Piano Concerto in D minor (Borowski, Felix)". IMSLP: Petrucci Music Library. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
9. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, World Premieres.
10. Phemister, William (2018-06-20). The American Piano Concerto Compendium. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-5381-1234-2.
11. Mu Phi Epsilon (1906). Year Book. p. 28.
12. Alabama Federation of Music Clubs; Thomas, Margaret Flor (1925). Musical Alabama. Paragon Press. p. 83.
13. "Miss Neff is Heard by Enthusiastic Audience". The Birmingham News. 1915-06-05. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Plans Charming Programs". The Birmingham News. 1917-04-01. p. 30. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Lackey, Orlean (1950-07-30). "Music Club pioneers braved many obstacles". The Birmingham News. p. 75. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Famous Musicians; Dolejsi and Neff to Play Here on Dec. 1st". Moundridge Journal. 1917-11-08. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Chicago to Have a New Music School". Musical Courier. 85: 44. July 6, 1922.
18. "Sisters Both in Musical Positions". Nebraska Daily News-Press. 1928-01-31. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Interesting Programs at the Theaters Offered This Week". The Birmingham News. 1919-03-23. p. 52. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Rare Musical Treat Coming". The Lemont Optimist-News. 1930-05-15. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "Boy Violinist Will Give Program Tonight". The Decatur Daily Review. 1935-04-11. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
22. "Searsport People See Musical Revue". The Bangor Daily News. 1937-08-19. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
23. Prudence Neff, Pianola: Saving the Music of Yesterday
24. "Today's Radio Programs". Chicago Tribune. 1924-05-22. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
25. "Sacred Heart Church, Palos 60 Years Old". The Star. 1933-09-22. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
26. "Dolejsi-Neff". The Birmingham News. 1915-11-21. p. 21. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
27. "Lyceum Attractions". The Lake Geneva Herald. 1915-10-08. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
28. "Birmingham Hears Mrs. Vann". Huntsville Weekly Democrat. 1917-04-18. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
29. "Church's Fund is Increased by Dolejsi Concert". The Birmingham News. 1916-02-11. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
30. "Prudence Neff Thomas (funeral listing)". Chicago Tribune. 1949-12-26. p. 42. Retrieved 2022-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.