Representative women of New England/Marie D. Faelten

by Mary H. Graves

MARIE D. FAELTEN

MARIE DEWING FAELTEN, one of the foremost of the young piano teachers of Boston, was born in San Francisco, Cal., April 26, 1869, being the eldest child of the Rev. Charles Shumway and Louie E. (Collins) Dewing. Her father was born in Pennsylvania, his parents, Ed- ward and Susan Dewing, having removed to that State from their old home in Salisbury, Conn. The Rev. Charles S. Dewing was for a number of years a teacher of Hebrew and Greek in Princeton College, of which he was a graduate. Later he became a Presbyterian minister, and preached in the West. He came to Massachusetts in 1886. He established a church in Somerville, which became self-sustaining before he left to accept the broader duties of minister at large. Afterward he established churches in Brookline, Brockton, Hyde Park, Haverhill, Waltham, and Springfield. Mrs. Dewing, who survives her husband, is now living in Boston. She was born in Washington, D.C. Her parents were James and Catherine (Osbom) Hoagland, natives of New Jersey and descendants of early settlers. Mr. Hoagland lost his life while on duty in the United States war-ship "San Jacinto" in Chinese waters some time in the fifties of last century. Mrs. Hoagland afterward married C. E Collins, of California, and her little daughter, legally adopted by him, became Louie E. Collins. Colonel James Osborn, the father of Catherine (Mrs. Hoagland), and his brother. Colonel Abraham, native-born residents of the old Osbom homestead near Manasquan, Monmouth County, N.J., were officers of the American army in the War of 1812, serving with honor. Their father, Samuel Osborn, fought in the Revolution. He was taken prisoner, but made his escape, with a neighbor named Allen. His farm was seven times raided by the British.

The earliest bearer of this surname in New England was probably Thomas Osborn, who in 1635 was at Hingham, Mass., whence he removed to Connecticut. In l?649-50 he was one of the founders of East Hampton, L.I. His sons Joseph and Jeremy settled in Elizabeth, N.J.

A similar name is that of William Fitz Osbern, that is, William son of Osbem (spelled with an e), who went to England in 1066 with William the Conqueror and after the battle of Hastings was made Earl of Hereford.

At the age of eight years Marie Dewing began her musical education under Miss A. L. Benson in Binghamton, N.Y., and later continued her studies at Tuscarora Academy in Pennsylvania. After the removal of her parents to Boston in 1886, she entered the New England Conservatory of Music, taking up her studies under Mr. Carl Faelten, and graduating in 1890, while he was director of the Conservatory. In the fall of the same year she became one of the teachers in pianoforte and hand culture and superintendent of the normal department. During this period she introduced the fundamental training course in the children's classes and established a children's matinde. Weekly lectures upon pedagogical subjects to teachers in the normal department also became a regular feature through her efforts. In the meantime she was organist at her father's church in Somerville, taking charge of musical affairs and giving her hearty support to all church work.

During the season of 1894 she met Mr. Reinhold Faelten, brother of the director and a teacher in the Conservatory. On June 23, 1896, they were married, both remaining on the staff of Conservatory teachers for another season, when they resigned to associate themselves with Mr. Carl Faelten in the Faelten Pianoforte School, which he established in 1897, after resigning his directorship in the Conservatory, at the close of seven successful years. The Faelten Pianoforte School, to the work of which both Mr. and Mrs. Faelten have devoted themselves assiduously, soon outgrew its quarters on Boylston Street, and now occupies a complete floor in the new Huntington Chambers. Its steady growth proves the merits of the principles on which it is reared. Class work is a feature of the school. The pupils are assembled in large class-rooms, with several pianos in each, and are drilled in the principles of music, including sight playing, keyboard, written harmony, touch, and technique. The piano lessons proper are given privately or in small classes of from two to four students.

A pupil studying at the Faelten Pianoforte School finishes his course a well-rounded musician, not only skilled in technique, but with an understanding of the great masters, great compositions, and musical history, which gives him a right to claim to be thoroughly educated in music. This instruction week by week is the best thing to supply that musical atmosphere which makes the German conservatories so valuable to students of music. One feels that Mr. Faelten has surrounded his pupils with a musical spirit which is a stimulus to growth; and their public recitals prove that "concentrated attention, positive knowledge, intelligent ear, reliable memory, fluency in sight reading, and artistic pianoforte playing are developed simultaneously."

Mrs. Faelten with her original ideas, cheerful nature, and love of music, although yet a young woman, has made a place for herself in the foremost rank of music teachers. Her teaching and playing are an inspiration to both pupil and audience. She has a large circle of friends in both the social and musical world, and is much sought after outside of her profession.