Constance Cochnower Virtue (6 January 1905 – 21 February 1992) was an American composer and organist who developed a

musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...

system called the ''Virtue Notagraph''.

Life and career

Virtue was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Robert and Edith Rankin Cochnower. She married Navy doctor Clark W. Virtue and they had two children, Christie and Robert. Virtue received a B.M. from the University of Cincinnati in 1927, and a master's degree in sacred music from the Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1945. She gave private piano and organ lessons and taught at Grossmont College from 1961 to 1963. She also served as the organist/music director at several churches in New York and California. In 1968, she toured as the pianist with an opera program for Alaska Music Trails. Virtue developed the ''Notagraph'', which has a seven-line staff, in 1933 as a new system of musical notation. She trademarked the ''Notagraph'' and published two books about it: ''Design for a Modern Notation'' (1945) and ''Music without Accidents'' (1975). Virtue was a member of

Mu Phi Epsilon Mu Phi Epsilon () is a co-ed international professional fraternity, professional music fraternity. It has over 75,000 members in 227 collegiate chapters and 113 Alumnus/a, alumni chapters in the US and abroad. History Mu Phi Epsilon was founde ...

and the American Guild of Organists. Her papers are archived at the University of California San Diego Center for Research in Computing and the Arts. Her music was published by H.W. Gray and G. Schirmer, Inc.

Works

Virtue's compositions include:

Chamber

*F''airy Tale for a Sleepy Child'' (cello) *''For Spring Returning'' (violin) *''Romanza'' (violin, cello and piano) *''String Quartet in G''

Orchestra

*Mystic Sonnet: To a Tree in Bloom (also arranged for piano)

Theater

*Queen of Camelot (musical) *What Gift to the King? (Christmas music drama)

Vocal

*"Farragut March Song" *"I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes" *"Love is Like a Rose" (text by

Christina Georgina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Brit ...

) *''Six Songs from the Chronology of Love''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virtue, Constance Cochnower American women classical composers American classical composers 1905 births 1992 deaths American organists Musical notation 20th-century American composers 20th-century classical composers 20th-century women composers 20th-century organists 20th-century American women musicians Musicians from Cincinnati University of Cincinnati alumni Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni