Clara Ross

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 formed an all-female mandolin band called the “Kensington Mandolinists” in the early 1890s and wrote much of their music herself.

The group performed for the royal family and was favorably reviewed by The Musical Standard in 1892 and 1893, which noted that the “Kensington Mandolinists.

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.