Marjorie Goetschius (23 September 1915 – 7 May 2001) was an American composer, pianist, cellist, and singer. She was born in

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

, New Hampshire. Her songs were interpreted by popular singers such as

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

and

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Life

Marjorie Goetschius was the granddaughter of Maria Stefany, an opera singer, and

Percy Goetschius Percy Goetschius (August 10, 1853 – October 29, 1943) was an American music theorist and teacher who won international fame in the teaching of composition. Career Goetschius was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He was encouraged by Ureli Corelli ...

, a music theorist and composer. She learned to play the piano at the age of five from her mother, Pauline Gauer, who was a concert pianist. She was educated at

Georgian Court College Georgian Court University (GCU or Georgian Court) is a private Roman Catholic university in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. Founded in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy, the university has more than 1,600 undergraduates and nearly 600 graduate students ...

and by her grandparents. She attended the Juilliard School in New York City, where she received instruction from

Bernard Wagenaar Bernard Wagenaar (July 18, 1894 – May 19, 1971) was a Dutch-American composer, conductor and violinist. Wagenaar was born in Arnhem. He studied at Utrecht University before starting his career as a teacher and conductor in 1914. He moved to ...

James Friskin James Friskin (3 March 1886, in Glasgow – 16 March 1967, in New York City) was a Scottish-born pianist, composer and music teacher who relocated to the United States in 1914. Biography Friskin studied in Glasgow with local organist Alfred ...

, and

Joseph Schillinger Joseph Moiseyevich Schillinger (Russian: Иосиф Моисеевич Шиллингер, (other sources: ) – 23 March 1943) was a composer, music theorist, and composition teacher who originated the Schillinger System of Musical Composition ...

. Marjorie met her husband Emery Deutsch at the

Juilliard School of Music 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 ...

. A composer of serious music for the concert hall, at Deutsch's suggestion Goetschius began composing popular songs. Her song "I Dream of You" stayed on the hit parade for 16 weeks in 1944–45. In addition she wrote several songs with violinist

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a virtuoso since childhood. Fritz ...

, who used the pseudonym of Jim Hoyl. In 1954, Tony Martin launched "My Bambino", which Goetschius wrote as an adaptation of an Italian lullaby inspired by the birth of her son. She composed music for piano and played cello and piano in orchestras and radio. Her songs were played by popular musicians such as Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles,

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

, among others.

Classical works

For piano: * Sonata in B * Theme & Variations * Scherzo in Thirds * Rondo * Poetique * Rhapsody in G For violin: * Lament * Tango del Ensueno * Valse Burlesque * Nebuleuses

Life

Classical works

Popular songs

References

Further reading