Sadah Shuchari (December 11, 1906 – 20 May 2001), or Sadah Schuhari, in Russian Сада Шухари, was an American violinist and music educator. She was concertmaster of the Vermont Philharmonic Orchestra from 1964 to 1979.

Early life

Sadah Shuchari was born Sadah "Sadie" Schwartz in

Enfield, Connecticut Enfield is a New England town, town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, first settled by John and Robert Pease of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. ...

, the daughter of Charles Schwartz and Dora Gerber Schwartz. Her parents were Jewish immigrants from

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

; her father sold insurance. Shuchari attended 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 ...

, and studied violin with Leopold Auer and Paul Kochanski. She also studied with composer Rubin Goldmark,

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanians, Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Biography En ...

, and Felix Salmond. Later in life, she earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

in 1962, and a master's degree from

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

in 1964.

Career

Shuchari won the Naumburg Scholarship in 1927, and the Schubert Memorial Prize in 1928. She performed at New York's

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

venue with pianist Isabelle Yalkovsky Byman, in a concert for the

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

centenary in 1928. She played again with Yalkovsky at Juilliard in 1931. Shuchari made recordings for Victor in 1928 and 1934. She performed on radio programs. She appeared as a soloist in recitals and with symphonies in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, Los Angeles,

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, Toronto, Baltimore, Harrisburg, Fort Worth, and El Paso in the 1930s. She joined the faculty of Vermont Junior College in 1945, as a professor of music. She continued performing in Vermont into her later years, and was concertmaster of the Vermont Philharmonic Orchestra from 1964 to 1979. Her last public performance came in 1983, at the Vermont Philharmonic's 25th anniversary concert.

Personal life

Shuchari married insurance agent Wallace Parker Start in 1937. They had two children, Frank and Meda, before they divorced in 1954. In 1966 she remarried, to Alex Colodny. Her second husband died in 1985. She died in 2001 in St. Albans Town, Vermont, aged 94 years.

References

External links

Autographed publicity portrait of Sadah Shuchari
(February 1930), signed to Bessie Bartlett Frankel; in the Bessie Bartlett Frankel Collection, Ella Strong Denison Library; Claremont Colleges Digital Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shuchari, Sadah 1906 births 2001 deaths People from Enfield, Connecticut 20th-century American classical violinists American women classical violinists American music educators American women music educators Juilliard School alumni Vermont College of Fine Arts faculty University of Vermont alumni Teachers College, Columbia University alumni American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Concertmasters Musicians from Connecticut