Regina Holmen Fryxell papers

Regina Holmen Fryxell was born on November 24, 1899 in Morganville, Kansas to Reverend Dr. J. A. Holmen and Amelia Christensen Holmen. She attended Essex High School in Essex, Iowa, and then entered Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois in 1918. She graduated with high honors in 1922 with both a BA in English and a Bachelor of Music degree (an unprecedented accomplishment). Fryxell then continued her education at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, graduating in 1927 with a diploma in organ. She married fellow Augustana graduate Fritiof M. Fryxell on June 22, 1928. Soon after, she began to teach piano, organ, music theory, and French at Augustana College. Fryxell also taught at Black Hawk College and Knox College, and was an organist for several area churches. She was well known for her many liturgical pieces, and was often featured in Lutheran music publications. She had three children with her husband: John B., Roald H., and Redwood T. Fryxell. Materials in this collection include biographical information, news clippings, photocopies of correspondence, college theme essays, photographs, college diplomas, cassette tapes, pamphlets, personal books (mainly religious and music-related), music owned and written by Fryxell, financial papers, programs, notes on music and composition, articles about Fryxell, and Fryxell family books (mainly children’s books).