music teacher, b. Sun Prairie. In 1878 she began serious study of the piano at Chicago. She was a student at the Royal Conservatory of Leipsig, Germany (1882-1885) and the Conservatoire National de Musique in Paris (1886). In 1887 Miss Bird opened the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Madison and was soon recognized as an exemplary teacher. From 1895 to 1909 she taught piano in the Univ. of Wisconsin Music School. Then in 1909 she organized the Wisconsin School of Music in Madison, and headed the school until her death. The French government elected her an officier d'Academic in 1914, an honor seldom bestowed on an American. She emphasized thorough technical training for the piano and was influential in introducing late 19th century French music in Madison. Madison Wis. State Journal, Aug. 25, 1914, May 6, 1934.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]