Helen L. Weiss
Born(1920-01-29)January 29, 1920
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 20, 1948(1948-02-20) (aged 28)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)
  • Composer
  • choir director
Instrument(s)Piano

Helen L. Weiss[1] (January 29, 1920 – February 20, 1948)[2] was an American composer, pianist, and choir director.

Biography

Helen Weiss was born in Brooklyn, New York,[3] to Samuel and Sadie (Friedman) Weiss. She had two brothers. The family moved to Philadelphia, where Weiss attended the Philadelphia High School for Girls. She earned a B.A. degree in music at the University of Pennsylvania in 1941; an M.A. in music at the University of Oklahoma in 1942; and a Ph.D. in music composition from the Eastman School of Music in 1944. She also studied music at the Philadelphia Conservatory (today the University of the Arts).[4]

After getting her Ph.D., Weiss taught, composed, and performed as a piano soloist, accompanist, and choir director.[4] She edited notes for the University of Pennsylvania Orchestra programs, was a secretary at the McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, and worked for the University of Pennsylvania Museum.[4]

Weiss traveled to Peru in 1945, where she lectured, performed, and organized a choir at the Peruvian-North American Cultural Institute. After becoming ill with cancer, she returned to the United States for treatment, which involved amputating her foot. She accepted a job with the U.S. State Department and returned to South America in March 1947. Her cancer recurred in November, and she came home to her family in Philadelphia and died in February 1948. Her papers and several recordings are archived at the University of Pennsylvania.[4]

Weiss' family and friends created the Helen L. Weiss Music Prize at the University of Pennsylvania in 1964. It is awarded for the best vocal musical composition of each school year. Recipients have included composers Ingrid Arauco,[5] Jennifer Margaret Barker, Boaz Ben-Moshe,[6] Kai-Young Chan,[7] Sharon Hershey,[8] Myoung-jun Lee,[9] Cerulean Payne Passmore,[10] Hasan Uçarsu,[11] James Ure,[12] Ania Vu,[13] and Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon.[14]

Selected works

References

  1. ^ Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International encyclopedia of women composers (Second edition, revised and enlarged ed.). New York. ISBN 0-9617485-2-4. OCLC 16714846.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ Greene, Frank, 1946- (1985). Composers on record: an index to biographical information on 14,000 composers whose music has been recorded. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-1816-7. OCLC 11971175.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Hixon, Donald L. (1993). Women in music : an encyclopedic biobibliography. Hennessee, Don A. (2nd ed.). Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-2769-7. OCLC 28889156.
  4. ^ a b c d "Frank Wiese Collection of Helen Weiss Papers". Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "University of Pennsylvania 1984 Commencement Program" (PDF). p. 66.
  6. ^ "Classical Music: The human aspect". The Jerusalem Post. December 8, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  7. ^ "Kai-Young Chan". HK Phil. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "University of Pennsylvania 1992 Commencement Program" (PDF). 1992. p. 75.
  9. ^ "University of Pennsylvania 1982 Commencement Program" (PDF). 1982. p. 64.
  10. ^ "Winners of the 2024 Penn Music Composition Competition Announced | Department of Music". music.sas.upenn.edu. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  11. ^ "Turkish composer wants to leave permanent mark on Istanbul". Hürriyet Daily News. November 7, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  12. ^ "University of Pennsylvania 1984 Commencement Program" (PDF). 1984. p. 65.
  13. ^ "2022 Annual Composition Competition Winners Announced | Department of Music". music.sas.upenn.edu. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  14. ^ "University of Pennsylvania 1991 Commencement Program" (PDF). p. 69.
  15. ^ Modern Music: A Quarterly Review. League of Composers. 1944.
  16. ^ High Fidelity. Audiocom. 1961.
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