Marilyn J. Ziffrin facts for kids

Marilyn Jane Ziffrin (born August 7, 1926, died March 16, 2018) was an American composer and music educator. This means she wrote music and also taught music to others.

Early Life and Education

Marilyn Ziffrin was born in Moline, Illinois. Her parents were Betty S. and Harry B. Ziffrin. She started learning to play the piano when she was just four years old. Her teacher was Louise Cervin.

Marilyn also learned to play the clarinet and saxophone. She began writing her own music early on. One of her first piano pieces was called "Ode to a Lost Pencil."

She went to the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She graduated from there in 1948. Then, she earned a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1949.

Teaching and Career

From 1967 to 1982, Marilyn Ziffrin worked as a professor at New England College. She also taught private music composition lessons. She taught at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire.

Marilyn was a member of the National Association of Composers and Conductors. She received several awards for her music. These included awards from ASCAP. She also received an Honorable Mention in a competition in 1998.

In 1997, she was named Composer of the Year by the New Hampshire Music Teachers Association. She also spent time at the MacDowell Colony. This is a special place where artists can focus on their creative work.

Marilyn Ziffrin also wrote a book. It was about another composer named Carl Ruggles. The book was called Carl Ruggles: Composer, Painter, and Storyteller.

Musical Works

Marilyn Ziffrin wrote many different kinds of music. She composed pieces for solo instruments, which means for one instrument alone. She also wrote chamber music, which is for a small group of instruments.

Her works include pieces for choirs (choral works) and for large groups of musicians (orchestra and band).

• Cantata for Freedom
• For Love of Cynthia
• Two Songs for bass-baritone (a type of singer)
• Piano Sonata (a piece for piano)
• Fantasy for 2 pianos
• New England Epitaphs
• Music for handbells and organ
• Two Holiday Songs
• Yankee Hooray
• Concerto for viola and woodwind quintet (1977–1978)
• Haiku, Song Cycle for soprano (a type of singer), viola, and harpsichord (or piano) (1971)
• Tributum for clarinet, viola, and double bass (1992)