Thelma Mary Given Verdi (March 9, 1896 — December 25, 1977) was an American violinist and child musical prodigy.
Early life Thelma Mary Given was born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in Decatur, Illinois,"Thelma Given Tells New York of Early Desire for Career" Decatur Herald (January 26, 1919): 17. via Newspapers.com the daughter of James Frederick Given and Emma Jones Given.Thelma Given's Biography, Provincetown History Preservation Project.Past and Present of the City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois (S. J. Park Publishing Company 1903): 808-809. Her musical abilities were recognized by age 5.Peter Merritt, "Miss America – Alias Thelma Given" Everybody's Magazine (February 1919): 16. She studied with Leopold Auer in Russia."Thelma Given Verdi, 81, Violinist Who Was a Renowned Child Prodigy" New York Times (December 28, 1977): 35. She toured Europe with Auer as a teenager, and was caught in the tumult of war and the Russian Revolution for almost a year"Apprehension for Women in Europe" Decatur Herald (January 24, 1915): 18. via Newspapers.com before she and her mother were able to return to the United States."Concert Stage Claims Former Decatur Girl" Decatur Herald (September 2, 1923): 13. via Newspapers.com
Career Given made her American debut at Carnegie Hall in 1918.Advertisement, Musical Courier (July 3, 1919): 30. She returned to the Carnegie Hall stage several times."Thelma Given's New York Recital, Oct. 18" Musical Courier (July 24, 1919): 8."Recital by Thelma Given" New York Times (December 1, 1929): 31. She toured in the United States and Europe"Thelma Given is On Her Third European Tour" Decatur Evening Herald (March 9, 1928): 16. via Newspapers.com in the 1920s and 1930s, given recitals and as guest soloist with orchestras."Haensel and Jones to Direct Tours of Thelma Given" Musical America (February 7, 1920): 41."Thelma Given at Carnegie Hall" The Violin World (August 1921): 137. She played a Guarneri violin made in 1738.It is not known where her violin ended up. "Deaf Girl 'Hears' Music" Decatur Daily Review (February 19, 1936): 12. via Newspapers.com
Personal life Given lived much of her adult life living with her mother and brother Eben Given (a painter), at Saranac Lake,"Thelma Given at Spion-Kop" Musical Courier (July 26, 1919): 26. and in the arts colony at Provincetown, Massachusetts,"Thelma Given Summering At Provincetown" Musical Courier (September 1, 1921): 26. in social circles that included playwright Eugene O'Neill.Louis Scheaffer, O'Neill: Son and Artist (Rowman & Littlefield 2002): 97-98. She married in 1943, as the third wife of Minturn de Suzzara Verdi, a New York lawyer."Miss Thelma Given Wed" New York Times (May 28, 1943): 17.
Thelma Given Verdi was widowed in 1970,"Minturn deS. Verdi" New York Times (August 12, 1970): 41. and she died on Christmas Day, 1977, aged 81 years, in Boston, Massachusetts, after a stroke. Papers associated with Thelma Given, including concert programs, letters, and a clippings album of reviews, are archived by the Provincetown History Preservation Project.Thelma Given Collection, Provincetown History Preservation Project, Digital Commonwealth: Massachusetts Collections Online.
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