Roberta Guaspari (born September 15, 1947) is an American

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist and music educator. She is known for her work in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, New York, where she taught during the 1980s and 1990s to keep music alive in inner-city schools. She was portrayed on film by

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

in ''

Music of the Heart ''Music of the Heart'' is a 1999 American biographical musical drama film directed by Wes Craven and written by Pamela Gray, based on the 1995 documentary '' Small Wonders''. The film is a dramatization of the true story of Roberta Guaspari, po ...

'' (1999), written by

Pamela Gray Pamela Gray (born 1956) is an American screenwriter. Biography Gray was raised in a Jewish family in New York City, the daughter of a salesman and a schoolteacher.

for which Streep was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

as Guaspari. Guaspari was also the subject of the 1995 documentary ''

Small Wonders ''Small Wonders'' (also known as ''Fiddlefest'') is a 1995 American documentary film about Roberta Guaspari, a music teacher in East Harlem who teaches underprivileged children how to play the violin. Produced and directed by Allan Miller, it w ...

''. As of 2017, she is still an instructor of violin with Opus 118 in New York City.

Life and career

Guaspari was born in

Rome, New York Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which li ...

, the daughter of Assunta "Sue" ( née Vitali 1923–2013) and Guido "Guy" Guaspari (1917-1974). She has a sister, Lois, and two brothers, Alfred and Douglas. Her grandparents on both sides were from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. She graduated with a B.A. in music education from the State University of New York at Fredonia and a master's degree in music education from the

Boston University College of Fine Arts The Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) at Boston University consists of the School of Music, the School of Theatre, and the School of Visual Arts. Each school offers degrees in the performing and visual arts at the undergraduate and grad ...

. She is divorced from her husband, George Tzavaras, with whom she had two sons, Nicholas and Alexi. She later adopted a daughter from El Salvador named Sophia. She co-founded Opus 118, a school of music that provides music instruction and teacher development. Select awards * The Petra Foundation's annual award in 1992 to “recognize and encourage unsung individuals who are making distinctive contributions to human freedom.” * Woman of the Year in 1994 by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

''This Morning''. * Heroes for Today Award by ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

''. * Outstanding Achievement Award by SUNY Fredonia Alumni Association in 1994. * Arison Award in 2003 presented by NFAA National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts for her “significant influence in the development of young American artists.” * American Eagle Awards in 2000 from the National Music Council of the United States. *

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

Medal of Distinction, 2011.

References

External links

Opus 118

Meryl Streep and the Movie about Roberta

* ttp://myhero.com/hero.asp?hero=robertaguaspari "Teacher Hero: Roberta Guaspar", June 2007
"When Teaching the Arts Becomes Social Work", The New York Times, October 6, 1996

* ttp://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991468,00.html "The Maestro Of East Harlem", The Time Magazine, July 12, 1999
Roberta Guaspari
Petra Fellows, 1992 1947 births Living people 20th-century violinists 21st-century violinists American music educators American violinists American women music educators Educators from New York (state) Music education in the United States Musicians from New York (state) People from Rome, New York 21st-century American women {{US-music-bio-stub