Rossini Waugh Stewart Vrionides
BornJune 25, 1896
Tipton, Indiana, US
DiedNovember 25, 1943
Other namesGypsy Rossini
Occupation(s)Actress, composer, organist, violinist
Spouse(s)Cal Stewart (m. 1914–1919), Christos Vrionides (m. 1933)

Rossini Waugh Stewart Vrionides (June 25, 1896 – November 25, 1943) was an American actress, composer,[1] organist[2] and violinist. She performed in vaudeville and on stage under the name "Gypsy Rossini."[3]

Rossini was born in Tipton, Indiana, to James and Eva (Overman) Waugh.[4] She was playing the lead in the play "Running for Governor" at McVickers Theatre in Chicago when she met Cal Stewart. They married in New York on July 6, 1914.[5]

Rossini and her brother and sister toured and appeared in vaudeville with Stewart. Rossini played the role of Aunt Nancy in his popular "Uncle Josh" shows.[6] She also played violin as Gypsy Rossini, accompanied by her sister Marjorie on piano.[7]

Stewart died in 1919. Rossini continued performing and gave organ and violin lessons. She taught violin at St. Joseph's Academy in Tipton for several years, before marrying conductor Christos Vrionides on April 19, 1933.[4]

Vrionides and Rossini composed A Cycle of Whitman Poems for mixed chorus and soloists in 1940,[8] based on text by Walt Whitman[9] and published by M. Baron.[10] The best known pieces in the cycle are Out of the Rolling Ocean the Crowd [11] and Washington's Monument.[12]

References

  1. ^ Hixon, Donald L. (1993). Women in music : an encyclopedic biobibliography. Hennessee, Don A. (2nd ed.). Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-2769-7. OCLC 28889156.
  2. ^ "Staff". website. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  3. ^ Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International encyclopedia of women composers (Second edition, revised and enlarged ed.). New York. ISBN 0-9617485-2-4. OCLC 16714846.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ a b Vrionides, Rossini Waugh Stewart. "ancestry.com". Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  5. ^ Stewart, Rossini Waugh (July 21, 1914). "newspapers.com". The Call-Leader Elwood Indiana. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  6. ^ Tribune, Laura Arwood Kokomo (August 23, 2020). "Tipton Historical Society remembers women with event". Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  7. ^ McNutt, Randy (September 16, 2011). Cal Stewart, Your Uncle Josh: America's King of Rural Comedy. iUniverse. ISBN 978-1-4620-4347-7.
  8. ^ Division, New York Public Library Rare Book (1979). The Imprint Catalog in the Rare Book Division. G. K. Hall. ISBN 978-0-8161-0092-7.
  9. ^ Neilson, Kenneth P. (1963). The World of Walt Whitman Music: A Bibliographical Study. K.P. Neilson.
  10. ^ Library, New York Public (1954). Bulletin of the New York Public Library. New York Public Library.
  11. ^ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1941). Catalog of Copyright Entries. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  12. ^ Wannamaker, John Samuel (1971). The Musical Settings of the Poetry of Walt Whitman: A Study of Theme, Structure and Prosody. University of Minnesota.


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