Vera Pearl Kemp was born December 19, 1895 at London, Kentucky, daughter of James and Cora Pearl. She attended Nazareth Music College in Louisville, and the Arthur Foote Music School in Boston.
Vera moved to Bloomington in 1927, and taught organ and musical theory at Illinois Wesleyan University before organizing the Vera Pearl Kemp Ensemble. The ensemble was a chamber orchestra with singers.
They gave concerts all over the central United States. She was also musical director and organist for the American Passion Play for 35 years and organist for the annual barbershop show for 42 years, as well as organist for Flinspach-Kurth and Kibler-Smith memorial homes for more than 40 years. She died on December 16, 1989 at the age of 93.
This collection includes Vera Pearl Kemp’s obituary and newspaper clippings relating to her life and career. There are scrapbooks from 1935-1936, 1937, 1938, 1941, and thank you notes, 1933- 1943.