Description
The collection contains documents related to the life, travels, and musical work of Alice Barnett Stevenson, a prominent San
Diego composer.
Background
Alice Barnett Stevenson was born in 1886 in Lewiston, Illinois. Her father, Orrin Barnett, was a pianist and music teacher.
Having grown up in a musical family, she excelled in her musical endeavors and went on to graduate from the Chicago Musical
College in 1904 with highest honors. Her studies included piano with Rudolph Ganz, composition with Felix Borowski, and theory
with Dr. Louis Falk, among others. After college she traveled to Berlin, Germany to continue her studies under the famous
composer Hugo Ludwig Kaun, accompanied by Minnie Fish Griffin, a well-known and accomplished singer from Chicago. While in
Berlin, she met Samuel H. Price, a violin student from San Diego. The two were married shortly after. After a lengthy tour
of Europe, the couple returned to the United States in 1910, making their home in San Diego, where their two sons were born.
The marriage did not last long and four years later, the couple divorced.