Berenice Benson Bentley

Berenice Benson Bentley
Born(1887-01-02)January 2, 1887
Oskaloosa, Iowa, U.S.
DiedApril 2, 1971(1971-04-02) (aged 84)
Claremont, California, U.S.
OccupationsMusic educator, composer

Berenice Benson Bentley (January 2, 1887 – April 2, 1971) was an American music educator and composer, based in Chicago, described in 1960 as "one of America's best known composers of music for young people".[1]

Early life and education

Bentley was born in Oskaloosa, Iowa, the daughter of Newman Josiah Bentley and Mary Isabella Howe Bentley. She graduated from Grinnell College.[2]

Career

Bentley taught and composed music for voice and piano. She published several compilations of short piano compositions for student use. "The beginning numbers are not melodically interesting," Jay W. Fay wrote in a 1931 review of her Melody Picture Book for Beginners, adding that "the material begins to gather interest melodically and harmonically, and most of it is well worth while."[3] She taught at Intermont in Virginia in the summer of 1948, with the Leo Podolsky Piano Workshops in 1956, and played for music teachers in Claremont, California, in 1959[4] and 1960.[1] She was a member of the National League of American Pen Women[5][6] and the Musicians Club of Pomona Valley.[4]

Publications

  • Woodland Vignettes (5 songs, lyrics by Rowena Bastin Bennett)[2][7]
  • Six Miniatures (1924; included "The Elf and the Fairy", "Swing Song", "October Woods", "Birthday Dance", "Slumber Song", "The Dreaming Child")[8]
  • "Minuet" (1929)[9]
  • A Melody Picture Book For Beginners (1930)[3]
  • Book of Bells for Piano
  • "Birdling" (1938)
  • "On an Old Plantation" and "Russian Lullaby" (1939)
  • "Rondolette" and "Summertime Sketches" (1945)[5]
  • "Berceuse for Piano" (1947)
  • "Frost Fairies" and "Sweet Sleep" (1948)[10]
  • Music in Playtime (1948, with Sophie B. Matthewson)[11]
  • Happy Times (1955, includes "Three Black Swans" and "A Little Dance")[12]
  • Little Songs to Play and Sing (1956)
  • Piano Compositions of Berenice Benson Bentley (1958)
  • Four Northern Sketches (1960)

Personal life

Bentley lived in Belle Haven, Virginia, during World War II.[6][13][14] She died in 1971, at the age of 84, in Claremont, California.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Bentley Seminar Draws Pomona Valley Teachers". Piano Guild Notes. 10 (4): 8. November–December 1960 – via Internet Archive.
  2. 1 2 3 "Berenice Benson Bentley" International Encyclopedia of Women Composers (1987).
  3. 1 2 Fay, Jay W. (March 1931). "Reviews of Recent School Music". Musical Observer. 30 (3): 39.
  4. 1 2 "Music Teachers Plan Bentley Recital, Fete". Progress-Bulletin. 1959-11-12. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-07-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 "Pen Women Will Give Tea to Celebrate Armistice Day". Times Herald. 1945-11-11. p. 37. Retrieved 2026-07-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 "Alexandria Holds Art Week in Early November". Evening star. 1945-10-29. p. 20. Retrieved 2026-07-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Womans Clubs Plan Meeting". The Lake County Register. 1928-11-03. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-07-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Clayton F. Summy Co., "Summy's Corner" (advertisement), Pacific Coast Musician (July 5, 1924): 14.
  9. ↑ "With the Publishers". Music and Musicians. 15 (8): 12. September 1929.
  10. ↑ Maier, Guy (July 1948). "The Pianist's Page". Étude. 66 (7): 408 – via Internet Archive.
  11. ↑ "The Reading Section". Health and Physical Education. 19 (7): 516. September 1948. doi:10.1080/23267240.1948.10622444.
  12. ↑ Bentley, Berenice B. (August 1955). "Three Black Swans and A Little Dance". Étude. 73 (8): 40–41 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ↑ "Two Composers to Attend Maier Piano Classes". Asheville Citizen-Times. 1942-08-05. p. 9. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  14. ↑ "Virginia Lee Presents Pupils". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. 1942-05-30. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-07-09 – via Newspapers.com.
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