Ross was born in
Dayton, Ohio, to Emma Corinne McCreary and Abner L. Ross. She showed early musical talent as a child, playing music by ear and giving concerts starting at age 10. She attended the
Cumnock School of Expression in Los Angeles for three years, then studied at the
University of Southern California for an additional year. Ross married in 1903 and had a daughter, Corinne, in 1904. In 1910, Ross left her husband and resumed using her maiden name. She studied piano for two years in Germany with
Severin Eisenberger and
Theodor Leschetitzky. Later, she studied counterpoint with
Nadia Boulanger. After returning to the U.S., Ross toured with and accompanied singers such as
Katherine Fisk, Blanche Hamilton Fox,
Jeanne Gerville-Reache,
Ernestine Schumann-Heink, and
Regina Vicarino, as well as cellist
Elsa Ruegger and violinist Ignaz Heroldi. She accompanied Schumann-Heink at the 1915 San Francisco Exposition, and appeared with the
Russian Symphony Orchestra Society in New York. In 1919, Ross helped found the California Federation of Music Clubs. The same year, she served as president of Los Angeles’ Dominant Club for female musicians. In 1928, she chaired the
National Federation of Music Clubs American Composers group, as well as the Hollywood Bowl Annual Composition Prize Committee. Ross’ works were recorded commercially by
Columbia (W14770) and
Victor Records (B-13820, B-28458, and BVE-34210). Her composition
Three Songs of the Desert inspired paintings by
Arthur Hill Gilbert. Ross’ works were published by
Edwin H. Morris and Company,
G. Schirmer Inc., Huntzinger & Dilworth, J. Fischer and Bros., R. W. Heffelfinger, and the
White Smith Music Publishing Company. ==List of compositions==