Mary Canberg (1918 – 15 June 2004) was an American

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist, conductor, and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

. Canberg was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. She studied with Michael Press and Hans Letz at the

Juilliard School 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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and made her professional debut in a recital at Town Hall on 31 January 1947. She gave several more recitals in New York during the late 1940s through the 1950s and performed in a string quartet with John Corigliano, Sr. and Martin Ormandy, both of whom had long associations with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

. Canberg also worked frequently with lauded organist

Clarence Dickinson Clarence Dickinson (May 7, 1873 in Lafayette, Indiana – August 2, 1969 in New York City) was an American composer and organist. Early Life and Studies Dickinson grew up in a religious family. His grandfather was minister Baxter Dickinson. H ...

(1873–1969) for music at the Brick Presbyterian Church on

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...

during this time. Working closely with the fledgling Clarkstown Recreation Commission and its founder Commissioner James Vincent Damiani Sr., she founded the Rockland County Youth String Orchestra in 1964, which she conducted for many years. The Rockland County Youth String Orchestra had its opening performance on Friday, April 24, 1964 at Nanuet JR.-SR. High School Auditorium with an encore at Clarkstown SR. High School on April 26, 1964 sponsored by the Clarkstown Recreation Commission. She also taught music to many students, a number of which have gone on to have highly successful performing careers, including cellist Ronald Thomas and violinists Joseph Lin and James Buswell."Obituary of Mary Canberg"
''The Journal News'', 18 June 2004 She died in

West Nyack, New York West Nyack is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Blauvelt, east of Nanuet, southwest of Valley Cottage, southeast of Bardonia, and west of Central ...

References

American classical violinists Juilliard School alumni 1918 births 2004 deaths Musicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan 20th-century classical violinists American women classical violinists 20th-century women musicians Classical musicians from Michigan 20th-century American violinists {{US-violinist-stub