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==Career==
==Career==
Woodward moved to California with her widowed mother<ref>Elizabeth Deuel, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cl9XsO9A0AcC&lpg=RA2-PA47&dq=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&pg=RA2-PA47#v=onepage&q=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&f=false "Interesting Westerners"] ''Sunset Magazine'' (March 1921): 47.</ref> and studied [[birdsong]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-wdRAQAAMAAJ&lpg=PA119&ots=waQwZ4sEcv&dq=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&pg=PA119#v=onepage&q&f=false "Whistling, a Modern Art, and What a Los Angeles Woman Has Done for It"] ''Out West'' (April 1917): 119.</ref> to develop her own "Bird Method" of teaching whistling,<ref>[https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH19120919.2.27 "Whistling is Latest Fad of Society Folk"] ''Los Angeles Herald'' (September 19, 1912): 3. via [[California Digital Newspaper Collection]]{{open access}}</ref> and opened the California School of Artistic Whistling in 1909,<ref>Jessica Gelt, [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-whistling-competition-20170907-story.html "Whistle a happy tune at the Masters of Musical Whistling competition"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 7, 2017).</ref> with branches later opening in [[Glendale, California|Glendale]], [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]], [[Yakima, Washington|Yakima]], [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], and [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]]. Her school's prospectus laid out her belief that "There is an art of whistling which belongs to the higher musical accomplishments, and which, in the majority of cases, falls to the lot of the young woman."<ref name="Resneck" /> Most of her students were young women, including Helen Porter, whose father was [[John Clinton Porter|the mayor of Los Angeles]].<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22319119/agnes_woodward_1932/ "Whistlers Appear on Varied Programs"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (August 28, 1932): 52. via [[Newspapers.com]]{{open access}}</ref> But she taught men and women of all ages;<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAscAQAAMAAJ&lpg=RA6-PA19&ots=p6V0hy5t6a&dq=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&pg=RA7-PA44#v=onepage&q=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&f=false "Teaching Many to Whistle"] ''Lyceum Magazine'' (March 1917): 44.</ref> she trained actor [[John Wayne]] and singers [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Pat Boone]] as whistlers.<ref>Sondra Farrell Bazrod, [http://articles.latimes.com/1991-02-17/magazine/tm-1740_1_sonic-bloom "Music: She Whistles While She Works"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (February 17, 1991).</ref>
Woodward moved to California with her widowed mother<ref>Elizabeth Deuel, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cl9XsO9A0AcC&lpg=RA2-PA47&dq=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&pg=RA2-PA47#v=onepage&q=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&f=false "Interesting Westerners"] ''Sunset Magazine'' (March 1921): 47.</ref> and studied [[birdsong]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-wdRAQAAMAAJ&lpg=PA119&ots=waQwZ4sEcv&dq=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&pg=PA119#v=onepage&q&f=false "Whistling, a Modern Art, and What a Los Angeles Woman Has Done for It"] ''Out West'' (April 1917): 119.</ref> to develop her own "Bird Method" of teaching whistling,<ref>[https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH19120919.2.27 "Whistling is Latest Fad of Society Folk"] ''Los Angeles Herald'' (September 19, 1912): 3. via [[California Digital Newspaper Collection]]{{open access}}</ref> and opened the California School of Artistic Whistling in 1909,<ref>Jessica Gelt, [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-whistling-competition-20170907-story.html "Whistle a happy tune at the Masters of Musical Whistling competition"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 7, 2017).</ref> with branches later opening in [[Glendale, California|Glendale]], [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]], [[Yakima, Washington|Yakima]], [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], and [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]]. Her school's prospectus laid out her belief that "There is an art of whistling which belongs to the higher musical accomplishments, and which, in the majority of cases, falls to the lot of the young woman."<ref name="Resneck" /> Most of her students were young women, including Helen Porter, whose father was [[John Clinton Porter|the mayor of Los Angeles]].<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22319119/agnes_woodward_1932/ "Whistlers Appear on Varied Programs"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (August 28, 1932): 52. via [[Newspapers.com]]{{open access}}</ref> But she taught men and women of all ages;<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAscAQAAMAAJ&lpg=RA6-PA19&ots=p6V0hy5t6a&dq=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&pg=RA7-PA44#v=onepage&q=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&f=false "Teaching Many to Whistle"] ''Lyceum Magazine'' (March 1917): 44.</ref> she trained actor [[John Wayne]] and singers [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Pat Boone]] as whistlers.<ref>Sondra Farrell Bazrod, [http://articles.latimes.com/1991-02-17/magazine/tm-1740_1_sonic-bloom "Music: She Whistles While She Works"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (February 17, 1991).</ref> In 1918 Agnes Woodward and her "Forty Whistling Girls" entertained at a Red Cross benefit in Los Angeles, adding "[[Over There]]" to their program for the occasion.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22319285/agnes_woodward_1918/ "Red Cross Ball"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (February 10, 1918): 33. via [[Newspapers.com]]{{open access}}</ref>


By 1916 she was managing the tours of several of her more successful students,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAscAQAAMAAJ&lpg=RA6-PA19&ots=p6V0hy5t6a&dq=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&pg=RA1-PA24#v=onepage&q=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&f=false "Whistlers to Tour"] ''Lyceum Magazine'' (July 1916): 24.</ref> including Margaret Gray McKee,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAscAQAAMAAJ&lpg=RA6-PA19&ots=p6V0hy5t6a&dq=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&pg=PA26#v=onepage&q=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&f=false "Canary at May Festival"] ''Lyceum Magazine'' (June 1916): 26.</ref> Gertrude Willey, Nina Kellogg, Felice Jung, Mary Louise Hand, and Shirley Irvine.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAscAQAAMAAJ&lpg=RA6-PA19&ots=p6V0hy5t6a&dq=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&pg=RA6-PA19#v=onepage&q=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&f=false "Pacific Coast Whistlers Who Are Open for 1917 Engagements"] ''Lyceum Magazine'' (December 1916): 19.</ref> She wrote a textbook on the subject, ''Whistling as an Art'', published in 1923, with later editions in 1925 and 1938.<ref>Agnes Woodward, [https://archive.org/details/WhistlingAsAnArt ''Whistling as an Art''] (Carl Fischer Inc. 1938).</ref>
By 1916 she was managing the tours of several of her more successful students,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAscAQAAMAAJ&lpg=RA6-PA19&ots=p6V0hy5t6a&dq=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&pg=RA1-PA24#v=onepage&q=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&f=false "Whistlers to Tour"] ''Lyceum Magazine'' (July 1916): 24.</ref> including Margaret Gray McKee,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAscAQAAMAAJ&lpg=RA6-PA19&ots=p6V0hy5t6a&dq=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&pg=PA26#v=onepage&q=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&f=false "Canary at May Festival"] ''Lyceum Magazine'' (June 1916): 26.</ref> Gertrude Willey, Nina Kellogg, Felice Jung, Mary Louise Hand, and Shirley Irvine.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAscAQAAMAAJ&lpg=RA6-PA19&ots=p6V0hy5t6a&dq=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&pg=RA6-PA19#v=onepage&q=Agnes%20Woodward%20whistling&f=false "Pacific Coast Whistlers Who Are Open for 1917 Engagements"] ''Lyceum Magazine'' (December 1916): 19.</ref> She wrote a textbook on the subject, ''Whistling as an Art'', published in 1923, with later editions in 1925 and 1938.<ref>Agnes Woodward, [https://archive.org/details/WhistlingAsAnArt ''Whistling as an Art''] (Carl Fischer Inc. 1938).</ref>

Revision as of 23:24, 29 July 2018

Agnes Woodward, from a 1918 publication.
Agnes Woodward, from a 1917 publication.
Agnes Woodward, from a 1918 publication.

Agnes Woodward (January 1872 — 1938) was an American musician and professional whistler, founder and head of the California School of Artistic Whistling in Los Angeles, California.

Early life

Anna Agnes Woodward was born in Waterloo, New York and raised in Tecumseh, Michigan,[1] the daughter of Charles Meredyth Woodward and Martha McGlashan Woodward. Her father was a military surgeon and veteran of the American Civil War.[2] She trained as a singer at the Detroit Conservatory of Music.[3] Actress and screenwriter Bess Meredyth was her first cousin.[4]

Career

Woodward moved to California with her widowed mother[5] and studied birdsong[6] to develop her own "Bird Method" of teaching whistling,[7] and opened the California School of Artistic Whistling in 1909,[8] with branches later opening in Glendale, Seattle, Yakima, Chicago, and Portland. Her school's prospectus laid out her belief that "There is an art of whistling which belongs to the higher musical accomplishments, and which, in the majority of cases, falls to the lot of the young woman."[3] Most of her students were young women, including Helen Porter, whose father was the mayor of Los Angeles.[9] But she taught men and women of all ages;[10] she trained actor John Wayne and singers Bing Crosby and Pat Boone as whistlers.[11] In 1918 Agnes Woodward and her "Forty Whistling Girls" entertained at a Red Cross benefit in Los Angeles, adding "Over There" to their program for the occasion.[12]

By 1916 she was managing the tours of several of her more successful students,[13] including Margaret Gray McKee,[14] Gertrude Willey, Nina Kellogg, Felice Jung, Mary Louise Hand, and Shirley Irvine.[15] She wrote a textbook on the subject, Whistling as an Art, published in 1923, with later editions in 1925 and 1938.[16]

Personal life

Agnes Woodward died in 1938 aged 66 years, in Los Angeles.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b J. M. Schlitz, "(Anna) Agnes Woodward" Grove Music Online (November 2013).
  2. ^ "Lieut. Col. Charles Meredyth Woodward" Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (Berlin Printing 1897): 64-66.
  3. ^ a b Daniel H. Resneck, "Whistling Women" American Heritage (August-September 1982).
  4. ^ Debra Ann Pawlak, Bringing Up Oscar: The Story of the Men and Women Who Founded the Academy (Pegasus Books 2012). ISBN 9781605982168
  5. ^ Elizabeth Deuel, "Interesting Westerners" Sunset Magazine (March 1921): 47.
  6. ^ "Whistling, a Modern Art, and What a Los Angeles Woman Has Done for It" Out West (April 1917): 119.
  7. ^ "Whistling is Latest Fad of Society Folk" Los Angeles Herald (September 19, 1912): 3. via California Digital Newspaper CollectionOpen access icon
  8. ^ Jessica Gelt, "Whistle a happy tune at the Masters of Musical Whistling competition" Los Angeles Times (September 7, 2017).
  9. ^ "Whistlers Appear on Varied Programs" Los Angeles Times (August 28, 1932): 52. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  10. ^ "Teaching Many to Whistle" Lyceum Magazine (March 1917): 44.
  11. ^ Sondra Farrell Bazrod, "Music: She Whistles While She Works" Los Angeles Times (February 17, 1991).
  12. ^ "Red Cross Ball" Los Angeles Times (February 10, 1918): 33. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  13. ^ "Whistlers to Tour" Lyceum Magazine (July 1916): 24.
  14. ^ "Canary at May Festival" Lyceum Magazine (June 1916): 26.
  15. ^ "Pacific Coast Whistlers Who Are Open for 1917 Engagements" Lyceum Magazine (December 1916): 19.
  16. ^ Agnes Woodward, Whistling as an Art (Carl Fischer Inc. 1938).
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