Beverly Mortensen
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Beverly Patton Mortensen (born 1939) is a
musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...
,
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...
, and scholar of ancient
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
at
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
.


Life

Mortensen received her BFA in Music and Music Education from
Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...
, in 1961. Mortensen taught music in the
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
public schools for two years, directing several choruses there. For 25 years she directed the St. Athanasius church choir in
Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
. Mortensen is also a prolific composer, who has written hymns, anthems, songs, masses, and oratorios. She has also directed community presentations of Broadway shows. She wrote and directed original musicals for schools and community groups in the
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
area. She was director of the Starlight Chorale in the Wallace Bowl at Gillson Park in
Wilmette, Illinois Wilmette is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Skokie, Northfield, Glenview, and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a populatio ...
. In the early 1970s, she was a professional folk singer. Her most frequently performed compositions are entitled, "Breathe on me, Breath of God" and "Children of the Heavenly Father," both capellas. Later, she completed a PhD program in early Judaism at
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
, earning her degree in 1995. She teaches there, as an
adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...
, classes on the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Dale T. Mortensen (1939-2014), an economist and professor at Northwestern who won the Nobel Prize in 2010.


Selected Bibliography

* ''The Priesthood in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan: Renewing the Profession'' (Studies in Aramaic Interpretation of Scripture 4). Brill, Leiden (2006). * "Pseudo-Jonathan's Temple, Symbol of Judaism," ''Targum and Scripture''. Brill, Leiden (2002), 129–137. * "Pseudo-Jonathan and Economics for Priests," '' Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha'' 10:20 (Oct, 1999): 39-71. * "Review of ''Covenant of Blood: Circumcision and Gender in Rabbinic Judaism'' by Lawrence A. Hoffman." ''Hebrew Studies. A Journal Devoted to Hebrew Language and Literature'' 39 (1998): 259-261. * ''Examining Your Childhood Religion''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortensen, Beverly Living people Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Northwestern University alumni American theologians American religion academics Jewish biblical scholars 1939 births