Merle Montgomery

Merle Montgomery (born Merle Campbell ; born May 15, 1904 in Davidson / Oklahoma , † August 25, 1986 in Chantilly ) was an American composer, pianist and music teacher.

Montgomery studied piano at the University of Oklahoma . From 1929 to 1933 she attended summer courses at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau and took private lessons from Nadia Boulanger and Isidore Philipp . She first gave private lessons in Oklahoma and taught piano and music theory at Southwestern Oklahoma College in Weatherford from 1934 to 1939 . In 1937 she received her Masters degree in music theory from the Eastman School of Music , where she taught piano and theory from 1943 to 1945. In 1948 she received her PhD from the Eastman School with a dissertation on Vincent d'Indy .

From 1945 Montgomery taught composition according to the Schillinger system and worked for the Carl Fischer music publisher in New York. From 1956 to 1966 she worked for the Music Department of Oxford University Press and taught piano and music theory at the Turtle Bay Music School and the Westchester Conservatory . From 1958 to 1960 she was President of the New York Federation of Music Clubs . During this time she published her Music Theory Papers and Music Composition Papers at Fischer . Between 1963 and 1972 she published two volumes in the Sribner Music Library .

From 1967 to 1971 Montgomery was coordinator for the symphonic repertoire at Verlag Fischer and vice-president for public relations. In 1971 she was a founding member and board member of the New York Philomusica Chamber Ensemble , and from 1971 to 1975 President of the National Federation of Music Clubs . Between 1975 and 1979 she was President of the National Music Council , from 1977 Vice President of the Musicians Club of New York . In 1976 she was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame . In her final years she was the representative of the National Federation of Music Clubs at the United Nations.

As a composer, Montgomery was best known for having several collections of children's songs. In the mid-1950s she wrote and produced a number of short films called Let's go to Musicland! .

source

• Library of Congress - Merle Montgomery Papers