Edith Borroff facts for kids
Edith Borroff (born August 2, 1925 – died March 10, 2019) was an American music expert and composer. A composer writes music, and a music expert (also called a musicologist) studies music history and theory. Edith wrote over 60 pieces of music that people asked her to create. These included music for plays, for her favorite instrument (the organ), and for choirs and orchestras. She also wrote at least 7 books about music and many articles.
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Life and career
Edith Borroff was born in New York City in 1925. Her parents, Marie Bergerson and Ramon Borroff, were both professional musicians. Her sister, Marie Borroff, became a poet. In 1941, her family moved to Chicago.
Edith loved music and studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the American Conservatory of Music. She earned her first music degree in 1946 and a master's degree in composing music in 1948. She learned to play the organ with Claire Coci and studied singing with Frances Grund.
From 1950 to 1954, she taught at Milwaukee-Downer College. While teaching, she continued her studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She earned her Ph.D. (a very high degree) in historical musicology by 1958. Her special research project was about the music of Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville.
In an interview in 2011, Edith shared that she always thought of herself as a composer. She started writing music when she was very young. She said she wasn't allowed to get a degree just in composing. So, she chose to study music history instead. But she kept composing, and people asked her to create over 60 new pieces of music!
After finishing her studies, Edith Borroff worked as both a composer and a music professor. She taught at several colleges and universities:
- Hillsdale College (1958-1962), where she was also an associate dean.
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1962-1966).
- Eastern Michigan University (1966-1972).
- State University of New York at Binghamton (1973-1992).
One of her pieces, Concerto for Marimba and Small Orchestra, was first performed in 1981. It was played by the university's orchestra at Binghamton. Alex Jacobowitz played the marimba, and Paul Jordan was the conductor.
Edith Borroff stopped teaching in 1992. Her important papers and works are kept at the Newberry Library. She passed away in Durham, North Carolina, on March 10, 2019.
What kind of music did she write?
Edith Borroff wrote many different kinds of music. She composed for the stage, which means music for plays or musicals. She also wrote pieces for groups of instruments, like string quartets (four string instruments) and woodwind quintets (five woodwind instruments). She even wrote music for choirs with instruments.
Music for the stage
- Spring over Brooklyn (a musical)
- Pygmalion (music for a play by G.B. Shaw)
- The Sun and the Wind (a musical story)
Music for instruments
Edith wrote many pieces for different combinations of instruments. Here are a few examples:
- String Quartet (for four string instruments)
- Woodwind Quintet (for five woodwind instruments)
- Variations for Band
- Mar Concerto (a concerto for marimba and orchestra)
- Mottoes (a suite for eight saxophones)
Music for chorus and instruments
She also wrote music for choirs, sometimes with instruments:
- The Christ-Child Lay on Mary's Lap (for a choir without instruments)
- Voices in Exile (for flute and viola)
- Trio (for viola, horn, and piano)
