Renée Longy-Miquelle (1898–1979) was a French-American pianist,

music theorist Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the " rudiments", that ...

, and noted pedagogue who served as a faculty member of the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on a full scholarshi ...

, and the

Peabody Conservatory The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a private music and dance conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliated with Johns Hopkins in 1977. History Philanthropist and ...

. She was the teacher of many seminal students, including

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

and

Michael Jeffrey Shapiro Michael Jeffrey Shapiro is an American composer, conductor, and author. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and studied at Columbia College, Columbia University, the Mannes College of Music and the Juilliard School. He has worked with musicians a ...

Life and career

Renee Longy was born in 1891 in Paris, France, to Georges Longy. At the age of four, she won the Pleyel Grand Piano Prize. Renee studied piano and

eurhythmics Dalcroze eurhythmics, also known as the Dalcroze method or simply eurhythmics, is a developmental approach to music education. Eurhythmics was developed in the early 20th century by Swiss musician and educator Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and has inf ...

at the

Paris Conservatory The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

under pianist Maurice Dumesnil and composers

Alfredo Casella Alfredo Casella (25 July 18835 March 1947) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career Casella was born in Turin, the son of Maria (née Bordino) and Carlo Casella. His family included many musicians: his grandfather, a f ...

and Jean d’Udine. She moved with her family to the United States in 1914, when her father became the first oboist of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

. During this time, Longy also gave piano performances with various artists throughout the Northeast. Longy founded the

Longy School of Music Longy School of Music of Bard College is a private music school in Cambridge, Massachusetts associated with Bard College. Founded in 1915 as the Longy School of Music, it was one of the four independent degree-granting music schools in the Boston ...

with her father in 1915 and later replaced her father as director of the school from 1925 to 1926, where she brought over several faculty from the Boston Symphony and established

Dalcroze eurhythmics Dalcroze eurhythmics, also known as the Dalcroze method or simply eurhythmics, is a developmental approach to music education. Eurhythmics was developed in the early 20th century by Swiss musician and educator Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and has inf ...

in the school. Longy began teaching

and

solfège In music, solfège (British English or American English , ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a mnemonic used in teaching aural skills, Pitch (music), pitch and sight-reading of Western classical music, W ...

at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

. In 1926, she acquired a faculty position at the

. At Curtis, Longy founded XX Century Music Group to showcase new classical music. She taught

score reading from 1940 to 1941, and they developed a close relationship. Longy taught at the

from 1943 to 1951 before joining the School of Music of the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

faculty. Starting in 1963, Longy served as a member of the Literature and Materials Faculty at the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...

(now the Juilliard School) to teach music theory and solfège, a position she would hold until her death in 1979. At Juilliard, Longy developed a reputation for her rigorous and classical teaching methods, drilling students in dictation. She taught instrumental and vocal students solfége for two years, and conductors and composers pitch, clefs, and rhythm for four years. The Philharmonic Hall (home of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

) celebrated Longy's 50th anniversary of teaching with a banquet in 1964 and she was awarded the Handel and Haydn Society Medal in 1974. Former students of Renée Longy include

James Conlon James Conlon (born March 18, 1950) is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of Los Angeles Opera and principal conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra. Early years Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Che ...

Rose Bampton Rose Bampton (November 28, 1907 in Lakewood, Ohio – August 21, 2007 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) was an American opera singer who had an active international career during the 1930s and 1940s. She began her professional career performing mostly m ...

, Jack Druckman, Jacob Lateiner,

Leonard Rose Leonard Joseph Rose (July 27, 1918 – November 16, 1984) was an American cellist and pedagogue. Biography Rose was born in Washington, D.C. His parents were Jewish immigrants, his father from Bragin, Belarus, and his mother from Kyiv, ...

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer who was one of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century. He combined elements of European modernism and American " ...

, Larry Thomas Bell, and

, among others.

Bibliography

*''Music Fundamentals''. Philadelphia Pa: Elkan Vogel Co; 1936. *''Principles of Musical Theory''. Boston: E.C. Schirmer; 1953.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longy, Renée 1889 births 1979 deaths Music theorists Women classical pianists Juilliard School faculty