Margaret Isobel Jones Wiles (Dec 25, 1911 – Jul 6, 2000) was an American composer, conductor, and teacher who played violin and viola with several orchestras and composed over 50 string quartets. She received a B. Mus. 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 ...

in Indiana. Wiles also studied with Arthur Catterall at the Royal Academy of Music 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 ...

, and with

Raphael Bronstein Raphael Bronstein (June 25, 1896 – November 4, 1988) was a violinist and violin professor. Early life He was born in a Jewish family in Vilnius, Lithuania and studied violin with Leopold Auer at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He arrived in th ...

at New York College. In 1934 she moved to South Africa to marry Gordon Wiles, whom she had met while studying violin in London. Margaret and Gordon had two sons, Peter and John. Wiles played violin with the

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

Symphony Orchestra from 1941 to 1945. For 15 years, she gave solo recitals live and on South African radio. From 1945 to 1951, she was the concertmistress of the Pietermaritzburg Symphony. After returning to the United States in 1957, she became the assistant concertmistress of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. She also founded and conducted the

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college w ...

Orchestra. She taught violin and viola at Connecticut College and at her home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiles, Margaret Jones American women composers 1911 births 2000 deaths String quartet composers 20th-century American women American women conductors (music) Connecticut College faculty