Margaret Ferrell Vardell Sandresky (born 28 April 1921) is an American composer, organist and teacher. She was still composing on her 100th birthday.[1][2][3] She was a founding member of theSociety for Music Theory (SMT) as well as its first female contibutor.[4]
Sandresky was born inMacon, Georgia, to a musical family. Her grandmother Linda Rumple Vardell founded the Conservatory of Music atFlora Macdonald College, where her grandfather Charles Graves Vardell also taught. Sandresky’s father Charles Gildersleeve Vardell was a composer and the dean of music atSalem College. Her mother had a degree in piano and voice.[1][5][6]
Sandresky cofounded the North Carolina Composers Symposium[10] and was a founding member of the SMT. She was the first woman in SMT’s history to present at its National Conference of Music Theory and the first woman to publish in its official journal, theMusic Theory Spectrum.[4] In 2006, she received theSam Ragan Award for service to music in the state of North Carolina. She also received theAmerican Guild of Organists Distinguished Composer Award.[6][10]
Sandresky noted that she has been heavily influenced by theMoravian church music she heard in her childhood. The Moravian Music Foundation houses the Margaret Vardell Sandresky Collection. Her music has been published byBelwin Mills, Brodt Music Company, H. W. Gray Publishing Company, Hildegarde Press,Paraclete Press, and Wayne Leupold Editions.[6][7][10][11][12] Her compositions include:
^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxCohen, Aaron I. (1987).International encyclopedia of women composers. 2: Sai - Zyb, Appendices (2. ed., revised and enl ed.). New York: Books & Music. p. 615.ISBN978-0-9617485-1-7.
^ab"Margaret Ferrell Vardell Weds Clemens Sandresky".Asheville Citizen-Times. 2 Jan 1957. p. 5.
^Stern, Susan (1978).Women composers: a handbook. Metuchen London: the Scarecrow press. p. 147.ISBN978-0-8108-1138-6.
^abHeinrich, Adel (1991).Organ and harpsichord music by women composers: an annotated catalog. Music reference collection (1. publ ed.). New York: Greenwood Pr. p. 319.ISBN978-0-313-26802-1.
^abAnderson, Ruth; Anderson, E. Ruth (1976).Contemporary American composers: a biographical dictionary. Boston, Mass: Hall. p. 380.ISBN978-0-8161-1117-6.
^abcStewart-Green, Miriam (1980).Women composers: A checklist of works for the solo voice. A reference publication in women's studies. Boston, Mass: Hall. p. 63.ISBN978-0-8161-8498-9.
