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Lesser-Known Composer of the Month: Brief Sketches: Dana Suesse

Each month the Allen Music Library highlights an oft-forgotten composer (from the slightly off mainstream to the obscure) represented in our collections, along with short profiles of lesser-known performers, musical scholars, or other musicians.

Dana Suesse (1909-1987)

Dana Suesse was an American pianist and composer whose composition teachers included Rubin Goldmark and Nadia Boulanger.  Although she wrote "serious" music, principally for piano solo or piano and orchestra, her greatest acclaim came from her popular songs.  The 1929 publication of her "Syncopated Love Song" was her first major hit. From the mid 1930s she also wrote music for film and Broadway, most notably the still-iconic Hollywood anthem "You Oughta be in Pictures" with lyriscist Edward Heyman.

Her blend of serious and popular styles, along with her pianistic ability, earned her the nickname "Girl Gershwin."

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Laura Gayle Green
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College of Music, FSU
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850-644-3999
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Subjects: Music

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