Emma Cecilia Thursby

Emma Cecilia Thursby (February 21, 1845 – July 4, 1931) was an American singer popular in Europe and the United States.

Biography

Thursby was born to John Barnes Thursby, a rope manufacturer, and Jane Ann (Bennett) Thursby. She grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and first began to sing in the Old Bushwick (Dutch) Reformed Church. In 1857, she enrolled in the Bethlehem Female Seminary and trained with Sylvester and Francis Wolle. She continued to sing in church choirs in Brooklyn and Boston.

In the late 1860s and early 1870s, Thursby sang with performers including Ole Bull and Theodore Thomas. In 1874, she drew acclaim performing in concerts with Patrick Gilmore's 22nd Regiment Band at venues including the Philadelphia Academy of Music. She took voice lessons from Hermine Küchenmeister-Rudersdorf.

Her voice was notable for its clarity, power, and range (from middle C to E-flat above the staff).

After 1884, after the death of her mother and sister and as she wearied of traveling for concerts, she performed less frequently. She later became a teacher, and taught as professor of music at the Institute of Musical Art (now Juilliard School) in New York from 1905–11. Her pupils included Geraldine Farrar. Skeptical investigator Joseph Rinn investigated the bird and confirmed the claim was true "I was dumbfounded, for the bird sang and took suggestions just as a human being would. There could be no doubt that he understood what was said to him, and he replied in a tone that sounded like a mezzo-soprano." According to Rinn, the bird had also been taught to play the piano by Thursby. When Rinn was present in the room, the bird played Home, Sweet Home successfully by walking on the correct keys.

After the bird died in 1899, medical societies from New York City requested permission to make an autopsy on the bird, and Thursby agreed. The autopsy was conducted by physician Henry Holbrook Curtis and veterinarian Frank H. Miller. They discovered that the bird had an extraordinarily large brain and this was responsible for the bird's great abilities.