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

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

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 ...

, 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. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

in ''

Music of the Heart ''Music of the Heart'' is a 1999 American biographical film, biographical musical film, musical drama (film and television), drama film directed by Wes Craven and written by Pamela Gray, based on the 1995 documentary ''Small Wonders''. A dramati ...

'' (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, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

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 ...

''. 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 lie ...

, the daughter of Assunta "Sue" (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

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, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. She graduated with a B.A. in music education from the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

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) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of Boston University. Founded in 1872 with the establishment of the College of Music, it is an institution that trains artists, scholars of th ...

. She is divorced from her husband, George Tzavaras, with whom she had two sons,

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

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 (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

''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 wi ...

''. * 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 is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

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 American violinists 21st-century American violinists American music educators American women 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