FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Ella Scoble Opperman Papers

TABLE OF CONTENTS
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
ADMINISTRATIVE SUMMARY
HISTORICAL NOTE
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
INDEX TERMS
COLLECTION CONTENTS
	Correspondence (1907-1962)
	Notebooks (ca. 1900-1934)
	Articles (1911/1921)
	Speech Material (1889-ca. 1910)
	Day Books (1952-1961)
	Music Record Books (1911-1944)
	Memorabilia (1719-1960)
	Photographs (1901-1963)
	Biographical (1910-1962)
	Legal Records (1719-1945)
	Family Papers (1826-1907)

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

ID Number :	MSS1969196
Date(s):	1719-1963 (inclusive)
Date(s):	1900-1963 (bulk)
Extent:	4.48 LinearFt.
Abstract:	Correspondence, articles, speech material, notebooks, daybooks, music record books, photographs, memorabilia, and legal records documenting the personal and professional life of Ella Scoble Opperman, the first Dean of the Florida State College for Women School of Music. Includes Opperman family papers.
Language(s):	English
Language(s):	French
Language(s):	German

ADMINISTRATIVE SUMMARY

Alternative Formats:	Portions of collection available online? : No
Provenance:	Papers created by Ella Scoble Opperman.
Acquisition Information:	Gift of Owen F. Sellers, Administrator of Estate of Ella Scoble Opperman, May 1969. Additional materials received in 1990, donor unknown.
Access Conditions:	Collection is open to research
Use Conditions:	Copyright holder for this collection: Copyright has not been transferred to the Florida State University Libraries All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of University Libraries. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Processing History:	The collection was processed in October 1969. Additional materials were processed in 1990 and 1997, and the finding aid was updated in May 2006 by Burt Altman.
Preferred Citation:	Ella Scoble Opperman Papers, Special Collections, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida

HISTORICAL NOTE

Ella Scoble Opperman, Dean of the Florida State College for Women School of Music, was born October 27, 1873 in New Haven, Ohio. Her parents were Frederic Opperman, born in France, and Mary Scoble, born in Cincinnati, Ohio of English parents. Opperman began the study of piano at the age of five under her aunt, Laura H. Scoble, who was her teacher until she entered college. An accomplished pupil, she made her first public appearance as a pianist at the age of eight when she played at the Seymour, Indiana, opera house. A graduate of Aurora, Indiana High School, she received her diploma in piano and A.B. degree from Wesleyan College in Cincinnati at the age of 16. Later she received an artist diploma in piano and the Master of Music degree from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She studied in Berlin in 1900-1901 as a private piano pupil of the Russian pianist-teacher Ernest Jedliczka. From 1907-1909, she studied piano in Paris with classical music composer Moritz Moszkowski and organ with Felix Alexandre Guilmant. After returning to this country in 1909, she studied in master classes conducted by Leopold Godowsky, Rudolph Ganz, Isador Phillip, and Guy Maier. She studied organ under Harold Gleason at the Eastman School of Music. In addition, she gave several piano and organ recitals in Indiana and at the Cincinnati Conservatory, from which she received an honorary Doctor of Pedagogy degree in 1943.

Prior to her appointment at FSCW, Opperman taught two years at the Birmingham (Ohio) Seminary, one year at Knickerbocker Hall, in Indianapolis, and five years at Wesleyan College, in Macon, Georgia, where the president credited her with developing advanced curriculum standards. Opperman was appointed director of the FSCW School of Music in 1911, which at that time had a teaching faculty of six, and became its first dean in 1920, a post she held until her retirement in 1944. That year, she was named Dean Emeritus. The College became Florida State University (FSU) three years later. After her retirement, she wrote the Annals of the School of Music.

Opperman held several national offices in organizations related to her field. In 1961 she was honored at the golden anniversary concert of the FSU Woman's Glee Club, a 60-member choral group which she was instrumental in organizing.

Under Opperman's direction, the FSU School of Music instituted courses leading to the Bachelor's degree in piano, voice, organ, violoncello, composition, and public school music. In 1930, the School of Music became a member of the National Association of Schools of Music, only a few years after the organization was founded, and it was the first state school in the South to be accepted and accredited by the National Association. Opperman Music Hall, located on the FSU campus, was named for her. In that hall is a painting of Dean Opperman by Marie Goth, a member of one of the artist colonies in Brown County, Indiana, who is known for her paintings of General Douglas MacArthur, James Whitcomb Riley, and others.

Opperman died in Tallahassee, Florida on March 11, 1969. Her biography has appeared in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who in Florida, Who's Who in Music, Who's Who Among Women, Principal Women of America, American Women, and the Biographical Encyclopedia.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Ella Scoble Opperman Papers document the personal and professional life of this accomplished musician and first Dean of the Florida State College for Women School of Music. The collection includes correspondence, articles, speech materials, notebooks, daybooks, music record books, memorabilia, photographs, biographical material. In addition, there are certificates and diplomas received by her sister, Katie Marie Opperman, correspondence from Ella Opperman to her parents, and correspondence between other Opperman family members. Subjects covered include the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Wesleyan Female College, the pianoforte, Cincinnati Wesleyan College, teacher certification, and the dedication of Opperman Music Hall on the Florida State University campus. Correspondents include Ernest Jedliczka, Felix Alexandre Guilmant, Moritz Moszkowski, and Percy Grainger, a noted composer and pianist. The collection is significant to scholars studying 19th and 20th Century piano and organ music and musicians. It is also a significant resource for those studying the history of music education in colleges and universities during the 20th Century and the evolution of the Florida State College for Women School of Music.

INDEX TERMS

Corporate Names:	Florida State College for Women--History Florida State College for Women--School of Music Wesleyan Female College (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Personal Names:	Bonnet, Joseph, 1884-1944 Grainger, Percy, 1882-1961 Guilmant, Felix Alexandre, 1837-1911 Jedliczka, Ernest, 1855-1904 Moszkowski, Moritz, 1854-1925 Opperman, Ella Scoble, 1873-1969 Opperman, Katie Marie
Subject Terms:	Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Music--Instruction and Study. Musicians--Correspondence. Pianoforte. Organ--History. Teaching--Certification.
Genre/Form Terms:	account books clippings correspondence diplomas drawings genealogies lecture notes legal documents notebooks photographs programs

COLLECTION CONTENTS

> Correspondence (1907-1962)

Container: Box 693

Note: This series includes letters from friends and colleagues to Opperman congratulating her on the publication of Annals of the School of Music, Christmas cards with handwritten drawings from illustrators Walter and Elfrida Cowles and writer Karl W. Gehrkens, and letters from FSCW President Conradi, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and others congratulating her on her piano, organ recitals, and service as director and Dean of the FSCW School of Music. Other topics include the conferring of her Doctor of Pedagogy degree, her retirement, the naming of Opperman Music Hall, and her 80th and 90th birthday celebrations. Correspondents include William G. Dodd, FSCW Dean of the FSCW College of Arts and Sciences; FSU Presidents Doak Campbell and Robert M. Strozier; Percy Grainger, and Felix Alexandre Guilmant.