Biographical Note
Leonora Jackson McKim was born in Boston, Massachusettes, circa 1879 to Charles P. Jackson, an engineer, and his wife, aspiring singer Elisabeth Higgins. McKim demonstrated a gift for music from an early age. She studied violin and attracted the attention of George Vanderbilt and first lady Frances Cleveland, who sponsored her training in Chicago, Paris, and Berlin. Among McKim's teachers was Joseph Joachim. She made her debut in 1896 and was awarded the Mendelssohn State Prize by the Prussian government in 1898. She performed for royalty in Britain, Germany, and Sweden and was decorated by Queen Victoria in 1899. McKim was a soloist with leading European and American orchestras, including the London Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony. In the 1900-1901 season alone she performed 160 concerts throughout the United States. She performed on a 1714 Stradivarius that has come to be known as the “Leonora Jackson” Stradivarius.
In 1915 she married Dr. William Duncan McKim (1855-1935), a member of a wealthy Baltimore merchant family. The McKims traveled extensively and were patrons of the arts, holding musical programs in their Washington, D.C., home. Upon her death on January 7, 1969, McKim left the bulk of her estate to the Library of Congress. The Leonora Jackson and William Duncan McKim Fund was established in 1970 to commission works for violin and piano, sponsor a series of concerts at the Library of Congress, and to purchase letters by prominent composers.