Florida State University Libraries
Portions of collection available online? : No
Gift of Owen F. Sellers, Administrator of Estate of Ella Scoble Opperman, May 1969. Additional materials received in 1990, donor unknown.
Collection is open to research
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.
Ella Scoble Opperman Papers, Special Collections, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida
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.
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.
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.
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.
Includes essay "The Role of Efficiency."
Includes Slavic hymn "To Birthday of Christ."
Includes essay "Criticism."
Includes essay "What Is a Friend?"
Includes essay "The Five Keys to Happiness."
Includes essay "Man's Greatest Needs."
Includes sheet music for "The Quest."
Includes essay "Feeling and Intelligence."
Includes sheet music for Noel of the XIV Century.
Folder contains two copies.
Die Abendschule, St. Louis.
The Diapason, Fifty-Third Year, No. 4. -- Whole No. 687.
Sheet music.
Notes taken by Ella Scoble Opperman while attending the Rudolph Ganz Master Class lectures, concerts, operas in Berlin, and voice classes.
Berlin. (IV).
Chicago.
Berlin.
Chicago.
Typescripts of article "Palm Sunday in Paris, 1908," written by Opperman describing her visit to the Church of St. Eustache, where she toured the organ loft of renowned church organist Joseph Bonnet. Includes June 1911 issue of "Sharps and Flats," and November 4, 1953 issue of the Cincinnati News Bulletin, which published her article.
Includes "Felix Alexandre Guilmant" by Ella Scoble Opperman.
By Ella Scoble Opperman. Alumni News Bulletin of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Vol. V, No. 2.
By Ella Scoble Opperman. Typescript of article published in the Alumni News Bulletin of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
Addresses given by Wesleyan Class of 1890, suggestions for toasts, quotations used in Opperman's speeches for various occasions.
Includes "France," by Ella Scoble Opperman. Junior Entertainment, Class of 1980, Wesleyan Memorial Hall.
Daily appointments, reminders, notes kept by Opperman
"Music Record Books Kept by Dean Opperman and Filed in Registrar's Office." These records show students enrolled in the School of Music, the date they entered the School, their major professor, subjects taken, and hours practiced.
This extensive series comprises certificates, diplomas, and photo albums documenting Opperman's educational and professional accomplishments and honorary achievements.
Selections from the Works of Church organists at Paris.
Folder contains two copies.
Folder contains two copies.
Folder contains two copies.
With handwritten note from Carol Longone.
This series includes early photos of Ella Scoble Opperman, her early music instructors, the dedication of Opperman Music Hall in 1952, the Rudolph Ganz First Master Class of 1920, friends and colleagues, and autographed photos of Felix Alexander Guilmant and Percy Grainger.
Folder contains two copies.
The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida.
Kansas City, Mo.
Newspaper clippings and articles highlighting aspects of Opperman's career, such as honorary degrees she received, the dedication of Opperman Music Hall, publication of Annals of the School of Music, her acquaintance with Alexandre Guilmant, her early organ recitals, and her retirement in 1944.
Musical America
Dearborn Independent. Folder contains two copies.
The Sunday Times-Union, Jacksonville.
The Cincinnati Times-Star.
The Enquirer, Cincinnati.
The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville.
Sunday News Democrat, Tallahassee.
Florida State College for Women Bulletin, Vol. XXXVII, No. 2.
The Daily Democrat, Tallahassee.
The Star-Courier, Bloomington, Indiana.
The Diapason
Tallahassee Democrat.
The Star-Courier, Bloomington, Indiana.
This Month, The Florida State University, Vol. II, No. 7.
Folder contains two copies.
Aurora Journal-Bulletin.
The Diapason.
Tallahassee Democrat.
Florida State Alumni Bulletin.
Florida State Alumni Bulletin.
Passport, subpoena, teacher certifications
In French and German.
Song in German.
Correspondence from Ella Scoble Opperman in Norway to her sister and parents in Ohio; letters to and from Frederick Opperman (Ella's father); letters from John B. Opperman (Ella's grandfather) to his sons Frederick and Charles; letters from John Balthazar Opperman (lived in Strasbourg, France), a letter from Ella's aunt Laura to her cousins; Fred Opperman's account book, and legal records, which include William Scoble's petition for naturalization, Charles Opperman's Discharge Certificate from the Ohio National Guard, and genealogical notes.
In addition, there are memorabilia items, such as "Rewards of Merit" issued to Frederick Opperman from his elementary school instructor, $5 and $10 notes of Confederate currency, a National Union Republican ticket for Ulysses S. Grant, an Ohio Union Presidential ticket for Abraham Lincoln, and a campaign ribbon with pictures of James Buchanan and John C. Breckinridge. Some of these items are signed by Frederick Opperman.
Enclosed photograph.
Frederick Opperman's mercantile business account, listing expenses for boarding and purchases of household goods and livestock. In front of book it is noted that "F. Opperman began to clerk for H.H. Frost and Company, August 15, 1865 at $20.00 per month, including board." In 1872, he married Mary Scoble, moved to West Aurora, Ohio, and bought the mercantile business of A.O. Gould.
Includes Confederate notes, campaign items, Rewards of Merit.
Frederick Opperman's first vote for President.
Poem by Frederick Opperman.
Poem by Frederick Opperman.
Untranslated German document.
In German.