Barbara Joan Gustern (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Maier; February 10, 1935 – March 15, 2022) was an American vocal coach and singer. She had many noted students, including Blondie singer

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

Taylor Mac Taylor Mac Bowyer (born August 24, 1973) is an American actor, playwright, performance artist, director, producer, and singer-songwriter active mainly in New York City. In 2017, Mac was the recipient of a "Genius Grant" from the John D. and Cath ...

Justin Vivian Bond Justin Vivian Bond (born May 9, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Described as "the best cabaret artist of heir!-- MOS:GENDERID --> generation" and a "tornado of art and activism", they first achieved prominence under the pseudon ...

, Diamanda Galas, and

Kathleen Hanna Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician, artist, feminist activist, pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s she was the lead singer of feminist punk band ...

Biography

Barbara Joan Maier was raised in

Boonville, Indiana Boonville is a city in Boon Township, Warrick County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,246 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Warrick County. History Boonville was founded in 1818 and named for Jesse Boon, father o ...

. She was the daughter of Charles E. Maier and Gladys Hester Maier. She completed a B.A. from

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...

and a master's degree in psychology at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. She worked briefly in psychology before performing in musicals. Maier met her future husband Josef Donald Gustern, the son of Louis and Helen Gustern of New York, while singing at the

Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale The Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale (CSAIR), founded in 1954, is a Conservative, egalitarian congregation and a member of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. The synagogue is located in the Riverdale, Bronx, neighborho ...

. They married on July 27, 1963, at her parents' home in Boonville, Indiana. In August 1964, Gustern and her husband were cast in ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music ...

'' at the Ephrata Star Playhouse. When she was 40, she began teaching at the

American Musical and Dramatic Academy The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) is a private conservatory for the performing arts located in New York City and Los Angeles, California. The conservatory offers both Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees and two-year certificates in prof ...

. Gustern had many noted students, including Blondie singer

, Diamanda Galas, and

Death and aftermath

On March 10, 2022, Gustern sustained a head injury after allegedly being pushed to the ground by a woman outside of her apartment building in

Chelsea, Manhattan Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The area's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, the Hudson River and West Street to the west, and Sixth Avenue to the east, with its northern b ...

. While she remained conscious in the immediate aftermath and was able to give information to the police, her health deteriorated soon after, and she was taken to

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...

for surgery, where it was found that she had suffered severe brain damage. She died from her injuries five days after the attack, on March 15, at the age of 87. On March 22, 2022, a 26-year-old woman, Lauren Pazienza, turned herself in to authorities in connection to Gustern's death, and was charged with manslaughter. Prosecutors have indicated that the charges could be upgraded to murder.

References

External links

Obituary, Barbara Gustern, ''The New York Times'', March 24, 2022
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maier Gustern, Barbara 1935 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American women educators 21st-century American educators 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers American vocal coaches American women music educators Columbia University alumni DePauw University alumni Deaths from head injury Educators from New York City People from Boonville, Indiana Singers from Indiana