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Chalifoux, Alice

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1908 - 2008

Biographical History

Alice Chalifoux (1908-2008) was an influential harpist who studied under Carlos Salzedo and later ran his harp school in Camden, Maine. She lived to be 100 years old.

Alice Chalifoux was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Her mother, Alice Hallé Chalifoux, was a harpist and taught her from a young age. Alice continued to study the harp through local schools and then went on to study under Carlos Salzedo at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A few years after Salzedo began teaching students during his summers in Maine, Alice became his assistant. When Salzedo died in 1961, he left Alice his house and school. She continued to run and teach at Salzedo’s Harp Colony every summer until its end in 2002. While in concert seasons, Alice performed and traveled with the Cleveland Orchestra. She participated from 1931 to 1974 and was the only female member for her first twelve years. She met John Rideout and in 1937 they were married. He died in 1951 and left her to raise their daughter, Alyce Rideout, alone. In 1991, Alice was awarded both an honorary doctorate of fine arts degree at Bowdoin College and was recognized as an artist-teacher by the American String Teacher Association. Two years later, she was awarded an honorary doctorate of musical arts by the Cleveland Institute of Music. Alice was always going, and even at her old age she never retired. She continued to teach and even established the Alice Chalifoux Scholarship Fund in order to help aspiring harpists. She died in 2008 at 100 years old.

Citation:
Debussy, C. Petite suite [SR] p1997: insert (Alice Chalifoux, harp)

Govea, W. M. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century harpists, 1995 (Chalifoux, Alice; b. Jan. 22, 1908, Birmingham, AL)

Cleveland.com WWW site, Aug. 6, 2008 (in obituary published Aug. 1: Alice Chalifoux; b. in Birmingham, Ala.; d. Thursday [July 31, 2008], Winchester, Va., aged 100; diminutive, salty-tongued, and beloved former principal harp of the Cleveland Orchestra)

Cleveland Arts Prize website, via WWW, Nov. 14, 2014 (b. 1908 in Alabama; mother was a harpist and taught her at age 11; studied under Salzedo and inherited his house and school when he died in 1961; Cleveland Orchestra from 1931 to 1974, only female member for twelve years; husband, John Rideout died in 1951; honorary doctorate of fine arts degree at Bowdoin College; artist-teacher by American String Teacher Association; honorary doctorate of musical arts by Cleveland Institute of Music; established Alice Chalifoux Scholarship Fund; d. 2008) http://clevelandartsprize.org/awardees/alice_chalifoux.html

Found in 9 Collections and/or Records:

Alice Chalifoux personal papers, circa 1924-2008

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 7835 Series I
Scope and Contents

This series contains materials collected by Alice Chalifoux including photographs, news clippings, concert programs, a harp score transcribed by Carlos Salzedo and signed by Chalifoux, correspondence and greeting cards, and certificates and awards, 1924-2008.

Dates: circa 1924-2008

Alice Chalifoux papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 7835
Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials collected by Alice Chalifoux. Dates range from approximately 1924 to 2008. Includes photographs, news clippings, concert programs, correspondence and greeting cards, and certificates and awards. It also contains materials from the Salzedo School and various ephemera like a cross-stitched pillow.

Dates: approximately 1924-2008

Ellis Schuman audio recordings , 1980-2001

 Series — Box 1: Series 1; Series 2; Series 3; Series 4, Folder: 8
Identifier: MSS 7816 Series 3
Scope and Contents

Contains CDs with recordings of Ellis Schuman's compositions performed by musicians from San Francisco. Also contains interviews by Ellis Schuman with Alice Chalifoux, Alberto Salvi and Marie Ludwig-Giordano. Materials date 1980-2001.

Dates: 1980-2001

Ellis Schuman collection on Liliana Osses Adams, 1973-2006

 Sub-Series — Box 1: Series 1; Series 2; Series 3; Series 4, Folder: 4
Identifier: MSS 7816 Series 2 Sub-Series 2
Scope and Contents

Contains articles and clippings about Liliana Osses Adams from harpa.com, a photograph of Adams, harp recital programs, poems transcribed from Polish to English by Adams, printed images of art with harps, articles, interviews, and poems about ancient harps by Adams, a copy of the American Harp Journal from Summer 2005, a photocopy of an interview with Ellis Schuman by Liliana Osses Adams and a card to Adams from Schuman. Dates range 1973-2006.

Dates: 1973-2006

Ellis Schuman collection on other harpists, 1940-2006

 Series
Identifier: MSS 7816 Series 2
Scope and Contents

This series contains works collected by Ellis Schuman by other various composers. Dates range 1940-2006.

Dates: 1940-2006

Ellis Schuman photographs, approximately 1908-2006

 Series
Identifier: MSS 7816 Series 1
Scope and Contents Contains photographs of Ellis Schuman and other harpists including Alice Chalifoux, Douglas Rioth, Roslyn Rensch, Marcella Decray, Lynne Wainwright Palmer, Derek Bell, Edward Druzinsky, Mildred Dilling, Henriette Renie, Marcel Grandjany, Salvatore Mario de Stefano, Alberto Salvi and Maria Ludwig. Many of the photographs are autographed and labeled. Also contains a photocopy of a print from the private collection of Ellis Schuman that was used on the cover of the American Harp Journal in...
Dates: approximately 1908-2006

Ellis Schuman photographs with Alice Chalifoux, 1986

 File — Box 1: Series 1; Series 2; Series 3; Series 4, Folder: 1
Identifier: MSS 7816 Series 1

Salzedo Harp Colony records, circa 1924-2000

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 7835 Series II
Scope and Contents Contains materials collected by Carlos Salzedo and Alice Chalifoux throughout the seventy-one years of the Salzedo School in Camden, Maine. Early materials were collected by Carlos Salzedo until his death in 1961. Materials after this date were collected by Alice Chalifoux. Collection includes concert programs, issues of the American Harp Journal, news clippings, correspondence, group photographs, list of pupils, and other documents from Carlos Salzedo's desk. National Harp Association...
Dates: circa 1924-2000

Ellis Schuman collection

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 7816
Scope and Contents The Ellis Schuman collection (1969-2006) include personal correspondence, Schuman's published works, both original works and arrangments for harp. Contains CD recorded interviews of Schuman, Alberto Salvi, Marie Ludwig, and Alice Chalifoux. The collection also includes autographed photos of Marie Ludwig and Mildred Dilling, as well as photographs of Schuman and other prominent harpists. The collection contains the papers of Ellis Schuman from his years as President of the Chicago Chapter of...
Dates: 1908-2014

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  • Subject: Photographs X

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Type
Archival Object 7
Collection 2
 
Subject
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences 6
Letters 6
Music 6
Harpists -- United States 5
Programs 4