Edith Pauline Alderman was the daughter of Henry Haines Alderman and Edith May Kelty, both members of pioneering Oregon families. When she was 11 years old her father, the Tillamook County Sheriff, committed suicide after being falsely accused of embezzlement. Following his death his estate was sued in a case that went to the Oregon Supreme Court which ruled in favor of the estate. When a friend suggested to Pauline's mother Edith that she had worked hard to clear her husband's name, Edith replied "my husband's name did not need clearing." According to Pauline, her mother rarely, if ever, discussed the issue after the court case was over.
After her father's death Pauline and her mother moved to Portland where, four month's later, her brother Henry Haines Alderman II, was born.
Pauline finished her public schooling in Portland and graduated from Washington High School in 1911. She then began the serious study of piano and entered Reed College in 1912 receiving her AB degree in 1916.
Between 1916 and 1931 she studied music with private teachers at the University of Washington and at the University of California at Berkeley. She also studied in New York in 1923-24 at the Institute of Musical Art (Juilliard). Afterwards she returned to the Northwest where she received her MA in music from the University of Washington in 1931. She spent several years in Europe during the 1930s. She researched Ballad Opera at the British Museum; registered at the University of Edinburgh for a Ph.D studying under Donald Francis Tovey only to leave after he became too ill to teach; and registered at the University of Strasbourg in 1939 to pursue her Ph.D but was forced to return to the United States with the outbreak of World War II. She eventually earned her Ph.D from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1946. She did post doctoral research at the Bibliothèque Nationale of France (BnF) in 1948.
After graduating from Reed College in 1916 Pauline had also begun her teaching career, first at a junior high school in McMinnville where she taught English Literature and Music, then at Lincoln High in Portland from 1918 to 1920 and the Ellison White Conservatory in Portland where she taught Theory and History of Music from 1920 to 1923. This was followed by teaching positions at Pomona College and the University of Washington until 1930 when she became an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California (USC) where she would remain throughout the rest of her career. Her time at USC included serving as chair of the Department of Music History. She also served as a visiting professor at 6 other universities in the US and Canada for periods, in some cases, of up to two years.
In her eighties she was asked to prepare a history of the USC School of Music which she had helped to create. When she died in 1983 at the age of ninety she was completely deaf and nearly blind. The book was not quite complete, needing editing and finishing touches. Her friends and colleagues finished the project and it was published, under her name, in 1989.
After her father's death Pauline and her mother moved to Portland where, four month's later, her brother Henry Haines Alderman II, was born.
Pauline finished her public schooling in Portland and graduated from Washington High School in 1911. She then began the serious study of piano and entered Reed College in 1912 receiving her AB degree in 1916.
Between 1916 and 1931 she studied music with private teachers at the University of Washington and at the University of California at Berkeley. She also studied in New York in 1923-24 at the Institute of Musical Art (Juilliard). Afterwards she returned to the Northwest where she received her MA in music from the University of Washington in 1931. She spent several years in Europe during the 1930s. She researched Ballad Opera at the British Museum; registered at the University of Edinburgh for a Ph.D studying under Donald Francis Tovey only to leave after he became too ill to teach; and registered at the University of Strasbourg in 1939 to pursue her Ph.D but was forced to return to the United States with the outbreak of World War II. She eventually earned her Ph.D from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1946. She did post doctoral research at the Bibliothèque Nationale of France (BnF) in 1948.
After graduating from Reed College in 1916 Pauline had also begun her teaching career, first at a junior high school in McMinnville where she taught English Literature and Music, then at Lincoln High in Portland from 1918 to 1920 and the Ellison White Conservatory in Portland where she taught Theory and History of Music from 1920 to 1923. This was followed by teaching positions at Pomona College and the University of Washington until 1930 when she became an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California (USC) where she would remain throughout the rest of her career. Her time at USC included serving as chair of the Department of Music History. She also served as a visiting professor at 6 other universities in the US and Canada for periods, in some cases, of up to two years.
In her eighties she was asked to prepare a history of the USC School of Music which she had helped to create. When she died in 1983 at the age of ninety she was completely deaf and nearly blind. The book was not quite complete, needing editing and finishing touches. Her friends and colleagues finished the project and it was published, under her name, in 1989.
Edith Pauline Alderman was the daughter of Henry Haines Alderman and Edith May Kelty, both members of pioneering Oregon families. When she was 11 years old her father, the Tillamook County Sheriff, committed suicide after being falsely accused of embezzlement. Following his death his estate was sued in a case that went to the Oregon Supreme Court which ruled in favor of the estate. When a friend suggested to Pauline's mother Edith that she had worked hard to clear her husband's name, Edith replied "my husband's name did not need clearing." According to Pauline, her mother rarely, if ever, discussed the issue after the court case was over.
After her father's death Pauline and her mother moved to Portland where, four month's later, her brother Henry Haines Alderman II, was born.
Pauline finished her public schooling in Portland and graduated from Washington High School in 1911. She then began the serious study of piano and entered Reed College in 1912 receiving her AB degree in 1916.
Between 1916 and 1931 she studied music with private teachers at the University of Washington and at the University of California at Berkeley. She also studied in New York in 1923-24 at the Institute of Musical Art (Juilliard). Afterwards she returned to the Northwest where she received her MA in music from the University of Washington in 1931. She spent several years in Europe during the 1930s. She researched Ballad Opera at the British Museum; registered at the University of Edinburgh for a Ph.D studying under Donald Francis Tovey only to leave after he became too ill to teach; and registered at the University of Strasbourg in 1939 to pursue her Ph.D but was forced to return to the United States with the outbreak of World War II. She eventually earned her Ph.D from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1946. She did post doctoral research at the Bibliothèque Nationale of France (BnF) in 1948.
After graduating from Reed College in 1916 Pauline had also begun her teaching career, first at a junior high school in McMinnville where she taught English Literature and Music, then at Lincoln High in Portland from 1918 to 1920 and the Ellison White Conservatory in Portland where she taught Theory and History of Music from 1920 to 1923. This was followed by teaching positions at Pomona College and the University of Washington until 1930 when she became an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California (USC) where she would remain throughout the rest of her career. Her time at USC included serving as chair of the Department of Music History. She also served as a visiting professor at 6 other universities in the US and Canada for periods, in some cases, of up to two years.
In her eighties she was asked to prepare a history of the USC School of Music which she had helped to create. When she died in 1983 at the age of ninety she was completely deaf and nearly blind. The book was not quite complete, needing editing and finishing touches. Her friends and colleagues finished the project and it was published, under her name, in 1989.
After her father's death Pauline and her mother moved to Portland where, four month's later, her brother Henry Haines Alderman II, was born.
Pauline finished her public schooling in Portland and graduated from Washington High School in 1911. She then began the serious study of piano and entered Reed College in 1912 receiving her AB degree in 1916.
Between 1916 and 1931 she studied music with private teachers at the University of Washington and at the University of California at Berkeley. She also studied in New York in 1923-24 at the Institute of Musical Art (Juilliard). Afterwards she returned to the Northwest where she received her MA in music from the University of Washington in 1931. She spent several years in Europe during the 1930s. She researched Ballad Opera at the British Museum; registered at the University of Edinburgh for a Ph.D studying under Donald Francis Tovey only to leave after he became too ill to teach; and registered at the University of Strasbourg in 1939 to pursue her Ph.D but was forced to return to the United States with the outbreak of World War II. She eventually earned her Ph.D from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1946. She did post doctoral research at the Bibliothèque Nationale of France (BnF) in 1948.
After graduating from Reed College in 1916 Pauline had also begun her teaching career, first at a junior high school in McMinnville where she taught English Literature and Music, then at Lincoln High in Portland from 1918 to 1920 and the Ellison White Conservatory in Portland where she taught Theory and History of Music from 1920 to 1923. This was followed by teaching positions at Pomona College and the University of Washington until 1930 when she became an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California (USC) where she would remain throughout the rest of her career. Her time at USC included serving as chair of the Department of Music History. She also served as a visiting professor at 6 other universities in the US and Canada for periods, in some cases, of up to two years.
In her eighties she was asked to prepare a history of the USC School of Music which she had helped to create. When she died in 1983 at the age of ninety she was completely deaf and nearly blind. The book was not quite complete, needing editing and finishing touches. Her friends and colleagues finished the project and it was published, under her name, in 1989.
Gravesite Details
Her cremated remains are buried next to her father and alongside her nephew Henry Alderman III
