Helen L. Weiss
{{Short description|Musical American composer, pianist, and choir director (1920–1948)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| background = person
| name = Helen L. Weiss
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1920|01|29}}
| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
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| death_date = {{death date and age|1948|02|20|1920|01|29}}
| death_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| occupation = {{hlist|Composer|choir director}}
| instrument = Piano
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Helen L. Weiss{{Cite book|last=Cohen, Aaron I.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16714846|title=International encyclopedia of women composers|year=1987|isbn=0-9617485-2-4|edition=Second edition, revised and enlarged|location=New York|oclc=16714846}} (January 29, 1920 – February 20, 1948){{Cite book|last=Greene, Frank, 1946-|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11971175|title=Composers on record: an index to biographical information on 14,000 composers whose music has been recorded|date=1985|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=0-8108-1816-7|location=Metuchen, N.J.|oclc=11971175}} was an American composer, pianist, and choir director.
Biography
Helen Weiss was born in Brooklyn, New York,{{Cite book|last=Hixon, Donald L.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28889156|title=Women in music : an encyclopedic biobibliography|date=1993|publisher=Scarecrow Press|others=Hennessee, Don A.|isbn=0-8108-2769-7|edition=2nd|location=Metuchen, N.J.|oclc=28889156}} to Samuel and Sadie (Friedman) Weiss. She had two brothers. The family moved to Philadelphia, where Weiss attended the Philadelphia High School for Girls. She earned a B.A. degree in music at the University of Pennsylvania in 1941; an M.A. in music at the University of Oklahoma in 1942; and a Ph.D. in music composition from the Eastman School of Music in 1944. She also studied music at the Philadelphia Conservatory (today the University of the Arts).{{Cite web |title=Frank Wiese Collection of Helen Weiss Papers |url=https://findingaids.library.upenn.edu/records/UPENN_RBML_PUSP.MS.COLL.1399 |access-date=March 30, 2024}}
After getting her Ph.D., Weiss taught, composed, and performed as a piano soloist, accompanist, and choir director. She edited notes for the University of Pennsylvania Orchestra programs, was a secretary at the McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, and worked for the University of Pennsylvania Museum.
Weiss traveled to Peru in 1945, where she lectured, performed, and organized a choir at the Peruvian-North American Cultural Institute. After becoming ill with cancer, she returned to the United States for treatment, which involved amputating her foot. She accepted a job with the U.S. State Department and returned to South America in March 1947. Her cancer recurred in November, and she came home to her family in Philadelphia and died in February 1948. Her papers and several recordings are archived at the University of Pennsylvania.
Weiss' family and friends created the Helen L. Weiss Music Prize at the University of Pennsylvania in 1964. It is awarded for the best vocal musical composition of each school year. Recipients have included composers Ingrid Arauco,{{Cite web |title=University of Pennsylvania 1984 Commencement Program |url=https://archives.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/commencement-program-1984.pdf |page=66}} Jennifer Margaret Barker, Boaz Ben-Moshe,{{Cite web|title=Classical Music: The human aspect|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/culture/classical-music-the-human-aspect-474852|access-date=October 16, 2020|website=The Jerusalem Post|date=December 8, 2016 }} Kai-Young Chan,{{Cite web|title=Kai-Young Chan|website=HK Phil|url=https://www.hkphil.org/artist/kai-young-chan|access-date=October 16, 2020}} Sharon Hershey,{{Cite web |date=1992 |title=University of Pennsylvania 1992 Commencement Program |url=https://archives.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/commencement-program-1992.pdf |page=75}} Myoung-jun Lee,{{Cite web |date=1982 |title=University of Pennsylvania 1982 Commencement Program |url=https://archives.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/commencement-program-1982.pdf |page=64}} Cerulean Payne Passmore,{{Cite web |title=Winners of the 2024 Penn Music Composition Competition Announced {{!}} Department of Music |url=https://music.sas.upenn.edu/news/2024/03/28/winners-2024-penn-music-composition-competition-announced |access-date=March 31, 2024 |website=music.sas.upenn.edu}} Hasan Uçarsu,{{Cite web|title=Turkish composer wants to leave permanent mark on Istanbul|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-composer-wants-to-leave-permanent-mark-on-istanbul-148426|access-date=October 16, 2020|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=November 7, 2019}} James Ure,{{Cite web |date=1984 |title=University of Pennsylvania 1984 Commencement Program |url=https://archives.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/commencement-program-1984.pdf |page=65}} Ania Vu,{{Cite web |title=2022 Annual Composition Competition Winners Announced {{!}} Department of Music |url=https://music.sas.upenn.edu/news/2022/04/18/2022-annual-composition-competition-winners-announced |access-date=March 31, 2024 |website=music.sas.upenn.edu}} and Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon.{{Cite web |title=University of Pennsylvania 1991 Commencement Program |url=https://archives.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/commencement-program-1991.pdf |page=69}}
Selected works
- Chorale and Variations (piano){{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vi1LAAAAYAAJ&q=helen+weiss+composer|title=Modern Music: A Quarterly Review|date=1944|publisher=League of Composers}}
- Declaration (orchestra and piano)
- I am the People (cantata for mixed chorus){{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FUdLAAAAYAAJ&q=helen+weiss+composer|title=High Fidelity|date=1961|publisher=Audiocom}}
- Plaint
- Sonata in a minor
- Suite for Piano
- Three Poems for Voice and Orchestra (text by Walt Whitman)
References
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Category:Musicians from Brooklyn
Category:20th-century American women pianists
Category:20th-century American pianists
Category:20th-century American composers
Category:20th-century American women composers
Category:20th-century American conductors (music)
Category:American choral conductors
Category:American women conductors (music)
Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni
Category:University of Oklahoma alumni
Category:Eastman School of Music alumni