Bonny Miller

SCMTA Shared Presentation

On February 19, 2023

Thank you to the South Carolina Music Teachers Association (SCMTA) for hosting my Zoom presentation, “Schumann’s Hand and Musicians’ Wellness,” on February 18, 2023.

The SCMTA series of statewide Zoom speakers grew out of the COVID shutdown when local chapters could not meet in person. Each chapter identified a presentation by one of their members to be broadcast via Zoom. The shared presentation series has continued as a beneficial opportunity to learn from and interact with colleagues from around the state without leaving home. I was honored to represent the Columbia Music Teachers Association. My session was recorded and is available to members on a private YouTube channel.

Paper and Pen

By Bonny Miller

On July 3, 2022

In Posts

Introduction

The title page of The Lady’s Almanac for 1854 showcases a romanticized illustration of a lady writing with a quill pen at an ornate desk as time slips away in the winged hourglass.

Augusta Browne’s table and chair would have been far less grand than the engraving depicts, but she was already making contributions as a writer as well as a composer. On page 92, the almanac includes her name—lacking (as often happened) the final e of Browne—among noted American women writers.

Augusta Browne’s American Bouquet, Part 1

By Bonny Miller

On June 29, 2022

In Posts

On the Fourth of July, 1826, Augusta Browne strolled along the streets of Boston with her siblings and parents. The day held special significance since it was the fiftieth anniversary of Independence Day, the day the Continental Congress passed the Declaration of Independence. Bands were marching and performing in parades and celebrations throughout Boston. Augusta’s father had even persuaded Mr. Kendall’s Brigade Band to play his American Grand March in one of the events.

The Browne family had only arrived in Boston a few weeks earlier. It was Augusta’s first taste of America after living in St. John (New Brunswick, Canada) since she was a toddler. The Boston Commercial Gazette reported that the “glorious day was celebrated in this city with every becoming demonstration of joy and gratitude.” The little girl drank in the sights and sounds of the grand celebration in Boston. Memory of the festive, patriotic music heard that day may have lingered in Augusta’s mind as one of her earliest impressions of the United States. That memory may have been a catalyst years later for her American Bouquet.

American Bouquet, first edition (Philadelphia: Osbourn’s Music Saloon, ca. 1840). Digital Image, Boston Public Library

Augusta Browne’s American Bouquet, Part 2

By Bonny Miller

On June 29, 2022

In Posts

The early editions (ca. 1841) of Augusta Browne’s American Bouquet bore a dedication to “Miss Sarah E. Wise of Virginia.” Although this flourish disappeared in subsequent imprints by Lee and Walker, the dedication to Sarah Wise presents an interesting connection from composer to consumer. The trajectories of these women’s lives raise questions about their respective actions during the Civil War some two decades later.