Toshi Seeger
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Toshi Seeger (born Toshi Aline Ohta; July 1, 1922 – July 9, 2013) was an American filmmaker, producer and environmental activist. A filmmaker who specialized in the subject of
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
, Toshi's credits include the 1966 film '' Afro-American Work Songs in a Texas Prison'' and the
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning documentary '' Pete Seeger: The Power of Song'', released through
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
in 2007. In 1966, Seeger and her husband, folk-singer
Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...
, co-founded the
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. is a non-profit organization based in Beacon, New York that seeks to protect the Hudson River and surrounding wetlands and waterways through advocacy and public education. Founded by folk singer Pete Seege ...
, which seeks to protect the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
and surrounding
wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
. Additionally, they co-founded the
Clearwater Festival The Clearwater Festival (officially the Great Hudson River Revival) is a music and environmental summer festival and America's oldest and largest annual festival of its kind. This unique event has hosted over 15,000 people on a weekend in June ...
(officially known as The Great Hudson River Revival), a major music festival held annually at
Croton Point Park Croton Point Park is a Westchester County park in the village of Croton-on-Hudson. The park has several public attractions including a miniature aircraft airport, boat launch, tent and RV camping, cabin rental, cross-country skiing, fishing, gro ...
in
Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...
.


Personal life

Toshi Seeger was born Toshi Aline Ohta on July 1, 1922, in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. Her mother, Virginia Harper Berry, was an American originally from
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, while her father, Takashi Ohta, was a Japanese
exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
from
Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
. Her grandfather, who had translated
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
writings into Japanese, had been ordered to leave Japan. However, Takashi Ohta took his father's place, as permitted under Japanese law at the time, and went into exile. He met Virginia Berry while traveling, and they married and lived in Munich. Toshi and her parents moved to the United States when she was six months old and she was raised in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
and
Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...
. She attended the
Little Red School House The Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, also referred to as LREI, is a school in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by Elisabeth Irwin in 1921 as the Little Red School House and is one of the city's first progressive s ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and graduated from
The High School of Music & Art The High School of Music & Art, informally known as "Music & Art" (or "M&A"), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the High ...
in 1940. She met her future husband,
Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...
, at a
square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...
in 1939. The couple married in 1943 with an engagement ring bought with money borrowed from Pete's grandmother. In 1949 they moved to a
log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...
without running water or electricity, with a view of the Hudson River. She has been credited as the foundation of Seeger's personal and professional success. Toshi, along with their children, went with Pete to his hearings before the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
(HUAC) in Washington during the 1950s. Pete Seeger was cited for
contempt of Congress Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically, the bribery of a U.S. senator or U.S. representative was considered contempt of Congress. In modern times, contempt of Co ...
in 1961, but his conviction was later overturned.


Career

Toshi Seeger helped to set up the
Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...
during the early 1960s. She has also been credited with helping to discover
Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), better known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself to play the guitar around the age of nine. He w ...
, a
country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...
musician, during the same era. In 1965, she took part in the
march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...
from
Selma Selma may refer to: Places *Selma, Algeria *Selma, Nova Scotia, Canada *Selma, Switzerland, village in the Grisons United States: *Selma, Alabama, city in Dallas County, best known for the Selma to Montgomery marches *Selma, Arkansas *Selma, Cali ...
to
Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
. She developed a career as a filmmaker and producer, often focusing on folk music and musicians. Many of her films are preserved 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 1966, she released '' Afro-American Work Songs in a Texas Prison'', which focused on the traditional songs sung by Texas prison inmates as they chopped down trees. When Pete Seeger's ban from television appearances for his political views was lifted in 1965, Toshi produced and directed a
public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
series, ''
Rainbow Quest ''Rainbow Quest'' (1965–66) was a U.S. television series devoted to folk music and hosted by Pete Seeger. It was videotaped in black-and-white and featured musicians playing in traditional American music genres such as traditional folk music, ...
'', hosted by her husband 1965 to 1966. Her official credited title for the show was "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer." Toshi and Pete Seeger co-founded both the
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. is a non-profit organization based in Beacon, New York that seeks to protect the Hudson River and surrounding wetlands and waterways through advocacy and public education. Founded by folk singer Pete Seege ...
and its related musical offshoot, The Great Hudson River Revival, also known as the "
Clearwater Festival The Clearwater Festival (officially the Great Hudson River Revival) is a music and environmental summer festival and America's oldest and largest annual festival of its kind. This unique event has hosted over 15,000 people on a weekend in June ...
". She used the festival to rally public support for cleaning up the Hudson River. Under her direction, the festival also instituted a number of ideas which were not utilized at other music festivals during the 1970s and 1980s, providing
sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...
interpreters, disabled-accessible
wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
access, and recycling programs. She recruited up-and-coming musical artists to perform at the festival through its planning committee, including
Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason". Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...
, before they achieved popularity elsewhere. The Clearwater Festival now attracts more than 15,000 attendees to
Croton Point Park Croton Point Park is a Westchester County park in the village of Croton-on-Hudson. The park has several public attractions including a miniature aircraft airport, boat launch, tent and RV camping, cabin rental, cross-country skiing, fishing, gro ...
each summer. Toshi Seeger
executive produced Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
the 2007
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
documentary, '' Pete Seeger: The Power of Song'', which won an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
. She was 85 years old at the time of the documentary's production. She served on numerous civic, environmental and artistic organizations, including the
New York State Council on the Arts The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell (1905–1996), ...
.


Death

Toshi Seeger died at her home in
Beacon, New York Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2020 census placed the city total population at 13,769. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area as we ...
, on July 9, 2013, at the age of 91, nine days before what would have been her 70th wedding anniversary. She was surrounded by her husband; their children Daniel,
Mika Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footbal ...
and Tinya; six grandchildren, including singer
Tao Rodríguez-Seeger Tao Rodríguez-Seeger (born 1972) is an American contemporary folk musician. A founder of The Mammals, he is the grandson of folk musician Pete Seeger. He plays banjo, guitar, harmonica and sings in English and Spanish. Biography Rodríguez-See ...
; and one great-grandson. Pete Seeger died six months later, on January 27, 2014, at age 94.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seeger, Toshi 1922 births 2013 deaths American documentary filmmakers American environmentalists American women environmentalists American film producers Music festival founders Television producers from New York City American women television producers People from Beacon, New York People from Greenwich Village Seeger family The High School of Music & Art alumni American women documentary filmmakers Little Red School House alumni American people of Japanese descent German emigrants to the United States German people of Japanese descent