Sylvia Meyer (November 23, 1907 – March 26, 2005) was an American harpist who became the first female member of the National Symphony Orchestra. She was a founding member of the World Harp Congress.

Early life

Sylvia Meyer was born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, the child of Balthasar H. Meyer, an interstate commerce commissioner. She started playing the harp at age seven, choosing the instrument because her mother had bought a harp at an estate sale. She studied music at the

Academy of the Holy Cross The Academy of the Holy Cross is a Catholic college preparatory school sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross and founded in 1868. The academy is located on a campus in North Bethesda, Maryland (Kensington postal address),

near

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, ...

, and graduated from the Western High School in 1924. She attended the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

from where she graduated

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in geology. She also was a graduate of the

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

, a conservatory associated with the

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

, from where she received a teacher's certificate and the Artist's Diploma, the first harpist to do so.

Career

Meyer trained at the harp with

Carlos Salzedo Carlos Salzedo (6 April 1885 – 17 August 1961) was a French harpist, pianist, composer and conductor. His compositions made the harp into a virtuoso instrument. He influenced many composers with his new ideas for the harp's sounds through his ...

in Camden, Maine, who taught her a style of aggressive playing. She played with the Baltimore Symphony for three seasons. Salzedo recommended her to

Hans Kindler Johannes Hendrikus Philip Kindler (January 8, 1892 – August 30, 1949) was a Dutch American cellist and conductor who founded the National Symphony Orchestra. He was married to painter Alice Kindler and Persis Chase Myers. Kindler as ...

, the then conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), which she joined in 1933. Meyer also performed concerts for the National Concert Association. She received praise for her performance of

Giovanni Battista Pescetti Giovanni Battista Pescetti (c. 170420 March 1766) was an organist, harpsichordist, and composer known primarily for his operas and keyboard sonatas. Musicologist and University of California, Santa Barbara professor John E. Gillespie wrote that Pes ...

's ''Sonata in C Minor'', a technically challenging piece, as well as compositions by Salzedo designed to exploit the full potential of the harp. In 1939, she joined the Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia as a part-time instructor in harp. In 1966, Meyer needed

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to restore a fingertip after a gardening accident. She recovered, but was forced to leave the NSO following her long medical absence. Meyer was acclaimed for her rendition of Alberto Ginastera's ''Harp Concerto, op. 25'' in 1968. Meyer received the Orah Ashley Lamke Distinguished Alumna Award in 1970 from Mu Phi Epsilon. In 1998, she was given the Elizabeth Mathias Award by the same fraternity for her achievements in music. Meyer was part of the founding committee of the World Harp Congress in 1981. A caricature of Meyer by Aline Fruhauf dating to the years of her performing career is owned by

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Later life

Sylvia Meyer retired from her musical career at age 61. She was married to

Oliver Gasch Oliver Gasch (May 4, 1906 – July 8, 1999) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Education and career Born in Washington, D.C., Gasch received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from ...

, a former judge, for 56 years until his death in 1999. The couple had a son together. Meyer died at the

Suburban Hospital Suburban Hospital is a community-based, not-for-profit hospital serving Montgomery County, Maryland, and the surrounding area since 1943. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, Suburban is the designated trauma center for Montgomery County. Suburban Hos ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

on March 26, 2005, from pneumonia. Her papers are held in the International Harp Archives.

References

External links

Sylvia Meyer papers
MSS 7764, International Harp Archives,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gr ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Sylvia American classical harpists 20th-century American musicians 1907 births 2005 deaths Musicians from Madison, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Peabody Institute alumni 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century women musicians University of Mary Washington faculty Deaths from pneumonia in Maryland Classical musicians from Wisconsin