Dina Koston (b. 1929?, d. 2009, Washington, D.C.) was an American pianist, music educator and composer.

Life and career

Dina Koston began the study of music at age two with her mother. She continued her studies at the

American Conservatory of Music The American Conservatory of Music (ACM) was a major American school of music founded in Chicago in 1886 by John James Hattstaedt (1851–1931). The conservatory was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit corporation. It developed the Conservato ...

and later studied with

Gavin Williamson Sir Gavin Alexander Williamson (born 25 June 1976) is a British politician who most recently served as Minister of State without Portfolio from 25 October to 8 November 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Staffordshire s ...

in harpsichord, Mieczyslaw Horszowski and

Leon Fleisher Leon Fleisher (July 23, 1928 – August 2, 2020) was an American classical pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He was one of the most renowned pianists and pedagogues in the world. Music correspondent Elijah Ho called him "one of the most re ...

in piano, and with

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

and

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

. She spent one summer studying at

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

. Koston taught at the

Peabody Conservatory The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

and at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the T ...

. She wrote music for theatrical productions at Café La Mama and the Arena Stage. With

she co-founded and co-directed the Theater Chamber Players from 1968-2003, which was the first resident chamber ensemble of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

and of

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. Koston married Dr. Roger L. Shapiro (1927-2002), a research psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. She suffered from a long illness at the end of her life and died in Washington, D.C. A bequest after her death established the Dina Koston and Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music. This fund provides for commissions and performance of new music at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

in Washington, D.C.

Works

Koston composed for a variety of instruments. Selected works include: *''In Memory of Jeannette Walters'' *''Trio Brasso'' *''Flourishes'' *''Reflections'' *''Messages'' *''Solo for clarinet'' *''Wordplay'' *''Distant Intervals'' Her work is recorded and available on media including: *''Leon Fleisher: All the Things You Are'' (2014)

References

External links

"For Solo Violin" by Dina Koston from YouTube.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koston, Dina 1920s births 2009 deaths 20th-century classical composers American music educators American women music educators American women classical composers American classical composers American classical pianists American women classical pianists American Conservatory alumni American Conservatory of Music alumni Tanglewood Music Center faculty 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American composers 20th-century women composers 21st-century American women