Ruth Kemper

Ruth Kemper
A young white woman, seated, holding a violin upright in her lap, and a bow in her right hand. She has short wavy hair, and is wearing a light-colored satiny dress with no sleeves.
Ruth Kemper, from a 1922 publication.
BornJuly 19, 1902
Salem, West Virginia
DiedDecember 31, 1985
New York City
Occupation(s)Musician, arts administrator

Ruth Lowther Kemper (July 19, 1902 – December 31, 1985) was an American violinist, music educator, conductor, and arts administrator. She was executive director of the Turtle Bay Music School from 1956 to 1969.

Early life

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Kemper was born in Salem, West Virginia. Her father, T. Francis Kemper, taught music at Salem College,[1] and her mother Daisy Lowther Kemper was a clubwoman[2] who was also her concert manager.[3] She began playing violin as a small child in Clarksburg, and was hailed as a musical prodigy.[4][5] She studied with Theodore Spiering,[6][7] Charles Martin Loeffler, Eugène Ysaÿe and George Enescu, and won the Lilli Lehmann Medal at the Salzburg Orchestral Academy.[8][9]

Career

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Kemper was a concert violinist as a young woman, based in New York.[10] She and singer Yvonne de Treville gave a concert together in 1920.[11] She gave recitals at Aeolian Hall in 1921, accompanied by Edwin Grasse,[3][12] and in 1924, accompanied by Arthur Loesser.[13] She played in the National Festival Trio with pianist Kathryn Eyman and cellist Lucille Orell.[14] In 1931, she gave a concert on BBC radio while performing in London.[15] She debuted new works in the 1920s and 1930s, including compositions by Marion Bauer[16] and Virgil Thomson.[17]

Kemper was also known as a conductor and music director.[18] She conducted the Salzburg Orchestra as a young woman.[9] She was music director of the WPA Music School Orchestra in 1935.[8] She was founder and director of the New York Cameo Chamber Orchestra.[15] She taught at the Brooklyn Music School Settlement in the 1920s,[19] and at Turtle Bay Music School from the 1930s. She was the Turtle Bay school's executive director from 1956 to 1969.[8]

Kemper was a founder and president (from 1955 to 1957) of the National Guild of Community Music Schools.[20] She continued teaching violin into the 1970s.[8]

Personal life

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Ruth Kemper died in 1985, aged 83 years, at home in New York City.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Kemper Lowther". The Clarksburg Telegram. 1900-08-24. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "American Music Not Appreciated". Press and Sun-Bulletin. 1922-07-13. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Advertisement". New-York Tribune. 1921-04-25. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Progidy; In Music is Little Ruth Kemper, a Native of City of Salem". The Clarksburg Telegram. 1912-07-11. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Ruth Kemper Wins Acclaim of Londoners". The Danville Morning News. 1928-07-17. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Ruth Kemper, Violinist, Returns to New York". The Palm Beach Post. 1918-04-12. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Theodore Spiering". The Violinist. 27: 97. September 1920.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Ruth Kemper". The New York Times. 1986-01-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  9. ^ a b "U. S. Girl Who Led Famous European Orchestra Returns". The Times Dispatch. 1932-01-31. p. 43. Retrieved 2020-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Miss Kemper at Church Musicale". The Courier-News. 1921-05-23. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "De Treville and Kemper". Music News. 12: 28. December 31, 1920.
  12. ^ "Ruth Kemper in Violin Recital". The New York Times. 1921-04-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  13. ^ "Washington Heights Musical Club (advertisement)". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1924-11-02. p. 69. Retrieved 2020-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "National American Music Festival at Buffalo". Music News. 13: 29. September 2, 1921.
  15. ^ a b "Violin Recital". The Radio Times. No. 421. 1931-10-23. p. 63. ISSN 0033-8060. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  16. ^ Oja, Carol J. (2000). Making Music Modern: New York in the 1920s. Oxford University Press. p. 369. ISBN 978-0-19-516257-8.
  17. ^ The Virgil Thomson Foundation, Ltd (2020-05-09). "Serenade for Flute and Violin for flute and violin (1931) | Works". Virgil Thomson – American Composer & Author. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  18. ^ "Conductress". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1938-08-15. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Music School Settlement Concert Held Yesterday". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1922-05-15. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Note Worthy". BusinessWest. 2007-01-22. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
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