Vera Barstow (June 3, 1891 – June 10, 1975) was an American violinist and teacher. She made a three-month tour playing for troops in France during World War I.

Early life

Vera Barstow was born in Celina, Ohio, but described as being from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She trained in Europe.

Luigi von Kunits Ludwig Paul Maria "Luigi" von Kunits (20 July 1870 – 8 October 1931) was a Canadian conductor, composer, violinist, and pedagogue. Born in Austria, he studied at the Vienna Conservatory. He later moved to Canada where he was the founding cond ...

was one of her teachers.

Career

Barstow had a busy performing schedule, beginning with appearances in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York in 1912–1913 season. In 1916–1917 her tour of Canada was interrupted by an emergency surgery in Toronto. Of her 1917 appearance in Texas with

Leo Ornstein Leo Ornstein (born ''Лев Орнштейн'', ''Lev Ornshteyn''; – February 24, 2002) was an American experimental composer and pianist of the early twentieth century. His performances of works by avant-garde composers and his own innovative ...

, a critic reported that "Miss Barstow was delightful in every way and unquestionably one of the greatest women violinists we have heard." In the spring of 1918, she toured Pennsylvania and Virginia, including a stop at Camp Lee with pianist Herma Menth, to play for American troops during World War I. She and Menth played gave further concerts for troops at Ellis Island and Camp Upton, working with the Stage Women's War Relief Society and the Jewish War Relief Society. She went to France to entertain the troops there for three months in 1918–1919. She described appearances of the all-female "Musical Foursome"James William Evans, Gardner Ludwig Harding, Anita Parkhurst, Ethel Rundquist
''Entertaining the American Army: The American Stage and Lyceum in the World War''
(Association Press 1921): 134-136. at field hospitals and playing for German prisoners. "I have never seen so much mud in my life," she wrote. She also fell ill in the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

while in France. Barstow made several recordings. Later in life, Barstow moved to southern California, where she gave concerts with pianist Helena Lewyn in the 1920s, and taught private students in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

and also at the

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

. Among her students were Akira Endo, Elizabeth Morgridge Mills, Arlene Gattuso, Stanley Ellison Plummer, and Eric McCracken. She also coached the string section of the Pasadena Symphony. She announced her retirement in 1962, but was still teaching in 1969. Isaac Stern was among the musicians performing at a gala concert in her honor in 1968, in Pasadena, with proceeds to fund a scholarship named for Barstow.

Personal life

Vera Barstow married William Pinkney Lawson; they had a daughter. Later she married John H. Meyers. She was widowed in 1935. She died in 1975, aged 84 years.Daniel Cariaga
"Vera Barstow, Violinist, Dies"
''Los Angeles Times'' (June 12, 1975): 96. via Newspapers.com

References

External links

Vera Barstow, Robert Gaylor, "Viennese Popular Song" (Edison)
a recording available at Internet Archive.
Vera Barstow and Robert Gaylor, "Ballet Music from 'Rosamunde'" (Edison 1920)
a recording available at Internet Archive. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barstow, Vera 1891 births 1975 deaths American women in World War I People from Celina, Ohio Musicians from Pittsburgh Women classical violinists American music educators American women music educators California State University, Long Beach faculty 20th-century American educators 20th-century women musicians 20th-century American violinists American women violinists 20th-century American women educators