Betty-Jean Hagen (October 17, 1930 – December 29, 2016) was a Canadian-born

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists, notable violinists from the baroque era onwards * List of contemporary classical violinists, notable contemporary classical violinists * List of violinist/compose ...

and musical educator living in the United States.

Early life

Hagen was born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and studied violin there with Alexander Nicol. Hagen won awards at the Alberta Music Festival in 1937 and 1938. She studied at the Chicago Conservatory from 1938–39, mainly with Ludwig Becker; she had received a scholarship to study both violin and piano but later decided to focus on violin.

Career

During the early 1940s, Hagen played with the Edmonton Philharmonic Orchestra; in 1946, she moved to Calgary, where she played with the Calgary Symphony Orchestra and studied with Clayton Hare. She studied at the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

from 1949 to 1951 with Géza de Kresz. In 1950, Hagen was one of the four winners of the Naumberg Competition. In 1951, she won the Eaton Graduating Scholarship, going on to study at

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

with Ivan Galamian. She also won the Pathé-Marconi Prize, which allowed her to give recitals in France, Holland, Britain and Switzerland. From 1950 to 1951, she was a member of the Columbia Canadian Trio which toured Ontario, Quebec, and the United States. In 1952, she received the Harriet Cohen Commonwealth Medal after her debut in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 1953, she was named "Woman of the Year" in music by the Canadian press and received the Carl Flesch Medal from the Guildhall School of Music. In 1955, she received the Leventritt Foundation Award. Hagen went on to perform with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

, the Cleveland Orchestra, the

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra The ''Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra'' (''PSO'') is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. History The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an America ...

, the Concergebouw Orchestra, the

London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

the

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. History Er ...

and the Vancouver International Festival Orchestra. Hagen performed with the

CBC Symphony Orchestra The CBC Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de la SRC; CBCSO/OSSRC) was a radio orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 1950s and 1960s. History The CBCSO was f ...

for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

at the Stratford Festival in 1957. In 1962, she placed 7th in the

International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

in Moscow. She also performed at

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

. She also gave a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II, and had her New York debut as a soloist at Carnegie Hall. Around 1957, Hagen married Vincent Greicius, a violinist with the

Metropolitan Opera Company The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

. He died in 1993. The couple settled in

Hastings-on-Hudson, New York Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the town of Greenburgh in the state of New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of midtown Manh ...

. They had two daughters and a son. One of her daughters, Elaine Greicius Tenca, also a violinist, died in 2008 at the age of 49. Her other daughter, Valerie Greicius Oster (also Valerie Gracious) is a singer and keyboardist in the progressive rock band Phideaux. During the 1970s, Hagen gave private lessons and coached chamber ensembles, primarily for students in their teens. She has served as concertmaster for the Westchester Symphony Orchestra, the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra and the Orange County Chamber Orchestra. During the early 1980s, she performed in a number of Canadian venues with orchestras and with a piano quartet. In 1985, she began teaching violin at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely foll ...

; she also taught at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

from 1985 to 1989. As of 2015, she was still concertmaster for the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra. She died in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagen, Betty-Jean 1930 births 2016 deaths Canadian classical violinists American classical violinists American women violinists Canadian music educators Canadian women educators American music educators American women music educators Musicians from Edmonton The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni Women classical violinists 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers 20th-century Canadian women musicians Canadian women violinists and fiddlers 21st-century American women