Born in Anderson, SC, Jan 28, 1887
Died in Hendersonville, NC, June 6, 1958
- Lily Strickland completed her formal training at the Institute of Musical Art in New York (now Julliard).
- As a composer, Strickland was consistently inspired by the music of diverse cultures throughout her career.
- Earlier on, she was influenced by Black musical traditions and Native American melodies.
- From 1920-29, Strickland lived in India, where she soon became fascinated with non-Western idioms.
- *Note from Rebecca – I would recommend treading lightly when playing some of Strickland’s pieces. Though she studied the music of these diverse cultures to varying degrees, I can also see arguments made regarding cultural appropriation of these musical traditions.
- Strickland wrote about 400 pieces, including operettas, piano pieces, and songs, “Mah Lindy Lou” being the most popular among them.1
- In addition to music, Strickland was also a writer, poet, and painter. She wrote numerous scholarly cultural articles, wrote the lyrics to her songs (in addition to standalone sonnets), and painted cover illustrations for many of her compositions.2
Learn more:
Biography (written by the son of Strickland’s first cousin)
Short biography from the South Carolina Encyclopedia
Sources
- John Graziano, “Strickland [Anderson], Lily,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed February 22, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000047164.
- J. Strickland Newson, Jr., “Lily Strickland: South Carolina’s Gift to American Music,” South Carolina’s Information Highway (2017), accessed February 22, 2023, https://www.sciway.net/hist/people/lily-strickland.html.