Gertrude Price Wollner facts for kids

Gertrude Price Wollner (born May 15, 1900 – died March 1985) was an American author and composer. She created music and wrote books about it. She learned from important music teachers like Albert Stossel, E. Robert Schmitz, and Emile Jacques Dalcroze.

Gertrude married Herbert J. Wollner on April 2, 1926. They had a daughter named Zelda. She taught music at several well-known schools. These included Boston University, the New England Conservatory of Music, and New York University.

Wollner wrote many articles about how to teach music. She also published a book in 1963. It was called Improvisation in Music: Ways Toward Capturing Musical Ideas and Developing Them. This book helped people learn how to create their own music.

She believed that everyone could be creative with music. She said that a "childlike attitude" and a strong desire to explore were key. She felt that not all music made creatively had to be "great music that lasts forever." Instead, the act of making music itself was valuable. It could make all future music experiences better for the person creating it.

Gertrude Wollner was also an honorary member of Sigma Alpha Iota. This is an international music group for women.

Her Musical Works

Gertrude Price Wollner composed many different types of music. Here are some of her selected works:

Chamber Music

Chamber music is written for a small group of instruments.

• Allegro (for oboe and bassoon; 1950)
• Cello Sonata (1946)
• Quartet (for English horn, violin, viola, and cello)
• Trio (for clarinet, violin, and cello; 1950)

Orchestra Music

Orchestra music is written for a large group of instruments.

• Exaggerated Impressions (for string orchestra and percussion)
• Suite (for string orchestra)

Piano Music

• A Dance to My Daughter
• Impressions of Tour of Old Marblehead

Theatre Music

This music was written for plays or performances.

• After Paul Draper (1944)
• Caesar and Cleopatra
• Music-Narration-Pantomime-Dance
• Reed Drum (1940)
• Scarlet Letter

Vocal Music

Vocal music is written for singers.

• "Poem" (with words by Rabindranath Tagore; 1937)
• "These August Nights" (with words by Melville Henry Cane; 1935)
• We Catch a Fish (for voice and orchestra)