Grete Franke Dollitz (June 12, 1924 – May 9, 2013) was an American

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

radio presenter, classical

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

, and guitar teacher in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. She was born in Germany, and immigrated to the United States with her mother and younger brother in 1935 to reunite with her father, who immigrated five years earlier. As a radio presenter, she had a deep voice, and used the phrase "Won't you join me?" at the end of her promos. Dollitz's program, "An Hour With the Guitar" aired in Richmond, Virginia and in other areas for over 30 years, originally on WFMV (defunct), and later on WRFK. Until December 2012, it aired weekly on

WCVE-FM WCVE-FM ("VPM News", 88.9 MHz) is a public radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, serving the Richmond/ Petersburg area. WCVE-FM is owned and operated by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation. CPBC also owns Channel 23 WCVE-TV, the P ...

. She also hosted a weekly classical music program on the same station, and an annual

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

program that highlighted musicians in the Richmond, Virginia area. American classical guitarist and composer Andrew York is one of Dollitz's former students. Dollitz herself was a student of classical guitar

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

and author,

Aaron Shearer Aaron Shearer (6 September 1919 – 21 April 2008) was an American classical guitarist known primarily as a Pedagogy, pedagogue. History He was born in Anatone, Washington to Nettie Pearl Moody and Floyd David Shearer, and was a guitar pupil of Sop ...

. Her personal guitar was crafted by the late

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luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

Joseph Wallo (#46, 1963). Dollitz retired from WCVE Public Radio on September 12, 2012. A book of letters she translated from German was published on February 12, 2013. The book, called ''Letters from the Depression: Part 1'' details the first year of her and her parents' immigration story through their letters. Dollitz died on May 9, 2013, in Richmond, Virginia.

References

External links

WCVE Public Radio: HD1 Schedule (News/Classical/Jazz)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dollitz, Grete 1924 births 2013 deaths German emigrants to the United States American guitarists