Bessie Bartlett Frankel

Bessie Bartlett Frankel (April 29, 1884 – September 15, 1959) was an American concert singer, composer, and clubwoman, and the first president of the California Federation of Music Clubs.

Her father was a cornettist and band leader; he ran a music store in Hollywood, and invited well-known musicians to Los Angeles to perform.

[1] She studied music at the Cumnock School of Expression and in New York with David Bispham and Herbert Witherspoon.

[9][10] With the Federation's backing, she worked to foster patriotic community singing, in the schools, movie houses, and theaters of Los Angeles, during World War I and afterwards.

The Bessie Bartlett Frankel Collection of Travel and Early Los Angeles Music is housed at the Ella Strong Denison Library, Scripps College.