Alice Brandon Caldwell

Alice Brandon Caldwell was born on 18 November 1899, in Smyrna (at that time Ottoman Empire, today Izmir in Turkey). Her parents were US Americans; her father taught as a professor at the International College. Alice Caldwell studied piano and composition first in Smyrna, then at the Geneva Conservatory, and completed her studies at Oberlin University in the year 1922. For further studies, she went back to Europe and perfected her piano training with Alfred Cortot in Paris and Artur Schnabel in Berlin. 
After her studies, Alice Caldwell toured as a concert pianist. Her first tour in 1927 led her to Athens, Salonika, Constantinople, and Smyrna. In the late 1930s, she suffered an almost fatal head injury in a car accident and had to give up her career as a soloist. After the accident, she dedicated herself to composing. In 1945, she moved to Laguna Beach, where she worked as a piano teacher for many years to come. 
Alice Brandon Caldwell died on 21 August 1992, in Laguna Beach (California, USA).

In my possession is the autograph manuscript of the song "Dancing fairy" for voice and piano by Alice Brandon Caldwell. The work was composed in 1949 and uses an own text by Alice Brandon Caldwell.