"Gussie" Lowell was born in San Francisco in 1857 of New England
parentage and began her first musical study with Professor Striby, one
of the earliest piano teachers. On moving to Oakland, when nine years
old, she studied first with Miss Mary Simpson (now Mrs. Barker) of the
Blake seminary, then Miss Gaskill (now Mrs. Andrews) and afterwards
with Mrs. Blanche Emerson and Mrs. Babcock. Organ study (on the reed
organ) was begun in 1874 with John H. Pratt, and when John P. Morgan
in 1875 came to Oakland from New York, where he had for years been the
beloved organist of Trinity Church, Miss Lowell took up the study of
the pipe organ at the old Congregational Church in Oakland and
practiced there, at the First Presbyterian Church and the Independent
Church, where she later became organist after a two years' service at
the First Baptist Church. As Mr. Morgan was the conductor of the San
Francisco Handel and Haydn Oratorio society and the Oakland Harmonic,
Miss Lowell had the unusual advantage as organist of these societies
of playing in all the oratorios given under the direction of Mr.
Morgan as well as Mr. Toepke and Mr. Gustave Hinrichs. After Mr.
Morgan's lamented death, Miss Lowell took his place as teacher of the
organ in the conservatory founded by him, where also taught Mr. Morgan
(piano), Mr. Louis Lisser, Mr. Henry Heyneman and Mr. Julius
Hinrichs (violoncello), Miss Susie Morgan, Mr. D.P. Hughes and dear
old Stephen W. Leach (voice culture).
[Illustration:
Rose Champion
Elsie Mae Hunt
Mrs. Cora Rayburn
Mrs. Mayme Bassford
Arthur Victory
Elizabeth Lanktree
Elsie Noonan
Jennie Christofferson
Harry Crandall