Urner, Catherine Murphy

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Urner, Catherine Murphy

Urner, Catherine Murphy, American singer,

teacher, and composer; b. Mitchell, Ind., March 23,1891; d. San Diego, April 30,1942. She studied at the Univ. of Calif, at Berkeley and with Koechlin in Paris (1920-21). After serving as director of vocal music at Mills Coll. in Oakland, Calif. (1921-24), she devoted much time to performing, teaching and composing. She made tours of the U.S., France, and Italy. Urner studied Amerian Indian tribal melodies, which she utilized in a number of compositions. She also collaborated with Koechlin on several scores.

Works

ORCH Esquisses normandes,suite (1929; rev. and orchestrated by Koechlin, 1945); 3 Movementsfor Chamber Orch. (1938); Flute Concerto (1940). CHAMBER : Petite Suitefor Flute, Violin, Viola, and Cello (1930); Jubilee Suitefor Flute and Piano (1931); Violin Sonata (1942); piano pieces; organ works. VOCAL : Over 100 songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire