Cecile L. Vashaw (23 August 1909 – 1 January 1985) was an American composer,[1] conductor,[2] and music educator[3] who is best remembered today for her string method books and for founding and conducting the Toledo Youth Symphony.[4]

Vashaw was born in Toledo, Ohio, to Benjamin Hezekiah and Edna M. Schnieder Vashaw.[5] She graduated from the Toledo Conservatory of Music, then earned a master's degree at New York University.[4]

Vashaw met composer Julia Frances Smith in New York and collaborated with her on several projects over the years. In 1965, they composed the tone poem Remember the Alamo[6] for band,[7] chorus, and narrator, which was commissioned by U.S. Navy Band director Lt. Cmdr. Anthony A. Mitchell.[8] They also collaborated on Sails Aloft: Overture for Band,[9] and on The Work and Play String Method,[10][11] several volumes for violin, viola, cello, and bass.[12] Their music was published by Theodore Presser Company.[13]

Smith and Vashaw worked much of the time via telephone and the postal mail system,[8] because Smith remained in New York, while Vashaw returned to Toledo, where she played violin and served as second concertmistress in the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. In 1939 she became the director of chorus, band, and orchestra at Waite High School and supervised the Toledo public school string program. She founded the Toledo Youth Symphony in 1950 and conducted it until 1965,[4] when she became the director of music for the entire Toledo public school system.[14] Vashaw participated in workshops on music education and wrote at least one article, Solving the String Study Problem in Toledo , Ohio, for Etude magazine.[15] She influenced many generations of public school music students.

References

  1. ↑ Directory of American Women Composers. National Federation of Music Clubs. 1970.
  2. ↑ Hixon, Donald L. (1993). Women in music : an encyclopedic biobibliography. Don A. Hennessee (2nd ed.). Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-2769-7. OCLC 28889156.
  3. ↑ Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International encyclopedia of women composers (Second edition, revised and enlarged ed.). New York. ISBN 0-9617485-2-4. OCLC 16714846.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. 1 2 3 "Cecile Vashaw (1910 - 1985) | Women of Northwest Ohio Spotlights | Podcasts | Radio | WGTE". www.wgte.org. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  5. ↑ Vashaw, Cecile (1985). "ancestry.com". Archived from the original on 1999-11-27. Retrieved 27 Mar 2021.
  6. ↑ Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia Edwin A. Fleisher Music (1984). Works by Women Composers in the Edwin A. Fleischer Collection of Orchestral Music, the Free Library of Philadelphia. The Library.
  7. ↑ Stern, Susan (1978). Women composers : a handbook. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-1138-3. OCLC 3844725.
  8. 1 2 Smith, Julia. "A Guide to the Julia Smith Papers, 1965-1967". legacy.lib.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  9. ↑ "Julia Smith Collection (Music), 1920-1989 | Music Library". findingaids.library.unt.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  10. ↑ "Methods". Academic Bass Portal. 2014-11-25. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  11. ↑ The School Musician Director and Teacher. Ammark Publishing Company. 1971.
  12. ↑ "archives.nypl.org -- Search results". archives.nypl.org. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  13. ↑ Musart. National Catholic Music Educators Association. 1967.
  14. ↑ Triad: Official Publication of the Ohio Music Education Association. The Association. 1969.
  15. ↑ Presser, Theodore (1956). Etude: The Music Magazine. T. Presser Company.
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