Agnes Kimball

Agnes Kimball
Kimball in 1912
Born(1881-10-05)October 5, 1881
Princeton, Indiana, U.S.
DiedJanuary 5, 1918(1918-01-05) (aged 36)
Sylvania, Ohio, U.S.
OccupationSoprano

Agnes Kimball (October 1881 – January 5, 1918) was an American soprano. She was a highly popular recording artist in the United States during the 1910s,[1] and is best remembered for recordings she made during the first half of that decade with the Victor Talking Machine Company, Columbia Records, and Edison Records. A classical vocalist, her repertoire encompassed opera, operetta, musical theatre, art songs, and popular ballads; all genres which were in demand among American consumers during that period in history.[2] Many of these recordings are included in the collection of the Library of Congress,[3] and the Discography of American Historical Recordings has catalogued her work.[1]

In live performance, Kimball spent the majority of her career working as a paid church singer. Born in Indiana, she began her career as a professional church vocalist in the early 1900s at Tabernacle Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis.[4] When her husband took a position with Carnegie Steel she became a paid singer at Third Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh.[5] By 1910 she had moved to New York City[6] and was working as a singer at Brick Presbyterian Church where she was a highly paid vocalist for several years.[7][4][8] While she recorded pieces from operas and musicals, she never appeared in stage productions during her career.[2] However, she did spend two seasons touring with Victor Herbert and his light opera orchestra in concerts in 1911–1912.[2] She also toured and recorded with the Croxton Quartet,[4] and worked as an oratorio singer on the concert stage as a member of the Oratorio Artists Quartet.[9] At the time of her death in 1918 she was a resident singer at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Toledo, Ohio.[8]

  1. ^ a b "Agnes Kimball". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference SL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Andrews, p. 62
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference obit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pittsburgh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference move was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference divorce was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Detroit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lyceum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).