Catharine Pearl Crozier | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1914-01-18)January 18, 1914 Hobart, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | September 19, 2003 Portland, Oregon |
| Occupation | Organist |
| Instrument | Pipe organ |
| Years active | 1939–2003 |
Catharine Pearl Crozier (January 18, 1914 inHobart, Oklahoma – September 19, 2003 inPortland, Oregon) was a leading American concert organist and teacher.[1]
Catharine Crozier was born inHobart, Oklahoma to the Rev. Walter Stuart Crozier and Alice Condit Crozier. As a child, she studied violin, piano, and organ, and made her first public appearance on the piano at age six.[2] She studied at Central High inPueblo, Colorado from 1927 until 1931.[3] For college, she attended theEastman School of Music inRochester, New York. Studying withHarold Gleason, she earned a bachelor's degree and a Performer's Certificate in 1936 and a master's degree and Artist's Diploma in 1941.[4] She and Gleason married in 1942.
Crozier joined theEastman School of Music organ department faculty in 1939, where she served as department chair from 1953 to 1955.[5] She and her husband then resigned from Eastman,[6] whereupon she then joined the faculty ofRollins College inWinter Park, Florida, where she taught until 1969, while also serving as organist ofKnowles Memorial Chapel on campus. She enjoyed international prominence as a teacher and adjudicator.
In 2001, theAmerican Guild of Organists established a video archive series of great organists, beginning with recordings of Crozier's teaching inThe Master Series, Vol. I.[7]
In 1941, Crozier made her concert debut in theWashington National Cathedral at theAmerican Guild of Organists National Convention, after which she concertized across the United States, Canada, and Europe in solo recitals and with ensembles, including theNew York Philharmonic, theRochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Musica Aeterna Orchestra of New York.[4] In 1955 she played the inaugural recital on Pittsburgh's Sixth United Presbyterian Church's new four-manual Aeolian-Skinner organ.[8] In 1962, she and two other organists,E. Power Biggs andVirgil Fox, performed the inaugural recital on the new organ at Philharmonic Hall, now calledAvery Fisher Hall, atLincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She was one of the honored guests celebrating the New York Philharmonic Orchestra's 125th birthday at Lincoln Center in December 1967.[9] Crozier also inaugurated the Kuhn Organ inAlice Tully Hall in 1975.[1] In 1973 she was the featured organist at the International Contemporary Organ Music Festival at the Hartt School of Music.[10]
In 1993, Crozier moved toPortland, Oregon, where she served as Artist in Residence atTrinity Episcopal Cathedral until shortly before her death in 2003 at the age of 89.
Crozier championed the works of contemporary composers, includingPaul Hindemith,Vincent Persichetti,Ned Rorem,[11] andLeo Sowerby.[12] She was also known for her specializations in historical French and German repertoire, which she recorded extensively.
Crozier was one of the few female organists to forge a highly visible career in the mid-twentieth century. Her awards include the 1979 International Performer of the Year Award (presented by the New York City Chapter of theAmerican Guild of Organists), the Alumni Achievement Award of theEastman School of Music, and theUniversity of Rochester Citation to Alumni. She received honorary doctoral degrees fromBaldwin-Wallace College,Illinois College,Smith College, theUniversity of Southern Colorado, and her alma mater, theUniversity of Rochester.[4]
Crozier co-edited several editions of theMethod of Organ Playing, a method book by her husband and colleagueHarold Gleason that was widely used in the United States. Following Gleason's death, she edited the seventh and eighth editions in 1988 and 1996.[13]
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