Clara Ross

Clara Louisa Ross Ricci (1 July 1858 - 1954) was a British composer, mandolinist, and singer. She is best known for her compositions for mandolin and her songs, which she published as Clara Ross or Clara Ross-Ricci.

Ross was born in Brighton, England, to a well to do family. In 1877 she auditioned before Sir Arthur Sullivan and received a scholarship to study voice at the National Training School for Music in London, where she remained until 1882. She later studied at the Royal College of Music in London.

In 1895, Ross moved to the United States to marry Richard Atkins Griffin, who had attended the Royal College of Music with her. He was a singer and voice teacher who used the stage name Riccardo Ricci. The couple settled in Wheeling, West Virginia, where Ross gave voice lessons and composed songs. Ricci died in 1905, and Ross remained in Wheeling for several decades, returning to Brighton sometime before World War II.

Ross’ music was published by Davis Burkham & Tyler Company, F. A. Mills, F. W. Baumer Company, George White, Huntzinger & Dillworth, John Alvey Turner, Oliver Ditson, Phillips & Page, Reid Brothers, Theodore Presser Company, William Maxwell Music Company, and Williams & Sons. Her compositions, many arranged several times for different instrumentation, include:

Compositions Mandolin and guitar ''Air de Ballet “Thou’rt Like a Flower” (text by Heinrich Heine)