# Muriel Kerr

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{{Infobox person
| name               = Muriel Kerr
| image              = Muriel Kerr (1911–1963).png
| caption            = Kerr pictured in 1929.
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1911|01|18}}
| birth_place        = Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1963|09|18|1911|01|18}}
| death_place        = California, United States
| occupation         = Pianist, [associate professor](/source/associate_professor)
| years_active       = 1928–1963
| spouse             = Naoum Benditzky (married 1938)
}}
{{Short description|Canadian pianist and music instructor}}
'''Muriel Kerr Benditzky''' (née '''Kerr'''; January 18, 1911 – September 18, 1963) was a Canadian pianist and music instructor with the [Juilliard School](/source/Juilliard_School) and [University of Southern California](/source/University_of_Southern_California).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Keillor |first=Elaine |date=December 16, 2013 |title=Muriel Kerr |url=https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/muriel-kerr-emc |access-date=2026-02-18 |website=[The Canadian Encyclopedia](/source/The_Canadian_Encyclopedia) |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stevenson |first=Robert |date=2000 |title=Reviews: "More Papers, Articles and Talks by a Canadian Composer 1961–1994," by John Beckwith |journal=Inter-American Music Review |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=116–119}}</ref><ref name=":19" />

== Early life and education ==
Kerr was born in [Regina](/source/Regina%2C_Saskatchewan), Saskatchewan to Lorence and Edith Kerr.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1938-04-04 |title=Pianist Weds |url=https://archive.org/details/EDJ_1938040401 |work=The Edmonton Bulletin |pages=6}}</ref><ref name=":19">{{Cite web |last=California State Archives |first=Sacramento |date=1963 |title=Muriel Kerr Benditzky Or Kerr, 18 Sep 1963 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGVW-LTQJ?lang=en |website=[FamilySearch](/source/FamilySearch) |series=California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800–1994 |via=California State Archives}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Fairley |first=Lilian |date=13 May 1964 |title=Story of Regina Prodigy |work=The Leader Post |pages=53}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Parks Canada |date=2007-03-14 |title=2326 College Avenue, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4P, Canada |url=https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=7045 |access-date=2026-02-19 |website=www.historicplaces.ca}}</ref> Lorence was prominent in Regina's business community as the owner of Kerr Land Company, a real estate development business, and co-owner of the Kerr-Patton Coal Company.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=City of Regina |url=https://www.regina.ca/export/sites/Regina.ca/about-regina/regina-history-facts/.galleries/pdfs/Complete-Historic-Walking-Tour.pdf |title=Regina Heritage Walking Tours |publisher=Queen Elizabeth II Court |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-896348-60-5 |edition=4 |location=Regina |pages=40 |chapter=KERR/BRONFMAN RESIDENCE 2326 COLLEGE AVENUE}}</ref> During his lifetime, he was known as the developer of the "impressive" multistory Kerr Block on Regina's Scarth Street.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite news |date=1 April 1960 |title=Former Reginan on US Faculty |work=The Leader Post |pages=7}}</ref> The house he built in Regina for his family in 1911, the Kerr Residence (2326 College Avenue), became a [municipal heritage property](/source/Heritage_conservation_in_Canada) in 2007, and remains on the [National Historic Sites of Canada](/source/National_Historic_Sites_of_Canada) register as of 2026.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" />

=== Education ===
Muriel Kerr began learning piano early in life and gave her first public performance at the age of seven, playing [Mozart's](/source/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart) [Piano Concerto No. 24](/source/Piano_Concerto_No._24_(Mozart)).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Masters |first=Richard |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_American_Classical_Piani/eEnREAAAQBAJ |title=Encyclopedia of American Classical Pianists: 1800s to the Present |date=2023-09-30 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |isbn=978-1-5381-7147-9 |pages=200–201 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Faunt |first=Colin |date=8 October 1976 |title=Views in Music |work=The Leader Post |pages=64}}</ref> Her [grade school](/source/Primary_school) friends would later recall that her mother "kept [Kerr] to a stringent schedule of four to six hours of practice daily."<ref name=":5" /> Kerr was not allowed to play with friends outdoors until she completed her assigned study, which she would do "obediently, though not always happily".<ref name=":5" />

For a short time, she studied under [Paul Wells](/source/Paul_Wells_(musician)) in Toronto at the [Royal Conservatory of Music](/source/The_Royal_Conservatory_of_Music).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schabas |first=Ezra |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/There_s_Music_in_These_Walls/4g8OCCWk5SQC |title=There's Music in These Walls: A History of the Royal Conservatory of Music |date=2005 |publisher=Dundurn |isbn=978-1-55002-540-8 |pages=41–42 |language=en}}</ref> Hoping to further Kerr's music career, her family relocated to the United States permanently in 1919.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" />

=== Musical education ===
In 1920, Kerr won a scholarship to study with [Percy Grainger](/source/Percy_Grainger) in Chicago for seven weeks over the summer.<ref name=":1" /> Kerr remained in Chicago for two years under the mentorship of [Alexander Raab](/source/Alexander_Raab) until Raab left for Europe in 1922.<ref name=":1" /> Kerr subsequently relocated to New York City to work with [Ernest Hutcheson](/source/Ernest_Hutcheson), studying privately for four years before serving as his assistant at [Juilliard](/source/Juilliard_School) between 1926 and 1930.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Vivian |date=January 1957 |title=Muriel Kerr |url=https://www.muphiepsilonlibrary.org/uploads/5/1/4/4/51444629/51-2_195701.pdf |journal=The Triangle of Mu Phi Epsilon |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=36–37 |via=Mu Phi Epsilon Library & Archives}}</ref>

== Career ==

=== Concert pianist ===
In 1928, Kerr was among the first recipients of the [Franz Schubert](/source/Franz_Schubert) Memorial Award.<ref>{{Cite news |last=W.b.c |date=1934-12-05 |title=MURIEL KERR, PIANIST, APPEARS IN RECITAL; First of Schubert Memorial Prize Winners Plays Music of Schumann and Brahms. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/12/05/archives/muriel-kerr-pianist-appears-in-recital-first-of-schubert-memorial.html |access-date=2026-02-18 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> This afforded her an opportunity to record music for [Victor Records](/source/Victor_Talking_Machine_Company), perform with the [New York Philharmonic](/source/New_York_Philharmonic), and debut at the [Town Hall](/source/The_Town_Hall_(New_York_City)).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kline |first=Donna Staley |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/An_American_Virtuoso_on_the_World_Stage/sq4QAQAAMAAJ |title=An American Virtuoso on the World Stage: Olga Samaroff Stokowski |date=1996 |publisher=Texas A & M University Press |isbn=978-0-89096-762-1 |pages=155 |language=en}}</ref> Kerr's 1928 recital with the Philharmonic was poorly received by critics, though her 1929 performance at the Town Hall attracted more positive reviews.<ref name=":1" /> For Victor Records, Kerr recorded two [Scriabin](/source/Alexander_Scriabin) [Étude](/source/%C3%89tude)s.<ref name=":1" />

Kerr maintained a career as a concert pianist from the 1930s onward,<ref name=":1" /> performing under her maiden name during her two marriages.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":20" /> She embarked on her first European tour in 1948,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |date=1948-03-15 |title=Muriel Kerr Acclaimed |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1948-03-15_68_4/ |journal=Musical America |volume=68 |issue=4 |pages=2 |via=[Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive)}}</ref> and recorded compositions by [Robert Schumann](/source/Robert_Schumann) and [Paul Hindemith](/source/Paul_Hindemith) for Victor Records in 1952.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1952-06-01 |title=COMMENT IN BRIEF |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/06/01/archives/comment-in-brief.html |access-date=2026-02-18 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== Teaching ===
In 1942, Kerr began teaching at Juilliard.<ref name=":1" /> She visited its first president, [John Erskine](/source/John_Erskine_(educator)), at his home throughout his 1949 recovery from a [cerebral haemorrhage](/source/Intracerebral_hemorrhage) to play music for him.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Erskine |first=John |url=https://books.google.ca/books/about/My_Life_in_Music.html?id=CHUFAAAAMAAJ |title=My Life in Music |date=1950 |publisher=Morrow |pages=269–270 |language=en}}</ref> Her relationship with Erskine's successor, [William Schuman](/source/William_Schuman), was not as positive.<ref name=":9" /> In March 1950, she resigned in protest after Schuman introduced a policy terminating the employment of older instructors such as [Carl Friedberg](/source/Carl_Friedberg).<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=Olmstead |first=Andrea |url=https://books.google.ca/books/about/Juilliard.html?id=YLQXrHGNlQUC&redir_esc=y |title=Juilliard: A History |date=1999 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-07106-5 |pages=154 |language=en}}</ref>

Kerr joined the faculty of the [University of Southern California](/source/University_of_Southern_California) in 1955,<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=21 September 1963 |title=Muriel Kerr, Sask. Pianist Dead, 52 |work=The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |pages=4}}</ref> and began serving as the director of the Punahou Music School in [Honolulu](/source/Honolulu) in 1957.<ref name=":0" /> In the latter role, Kerr organized an annual festival of contemporary music and art.<ref name=":0" /> For her contributions to Hawaii's musical development, she was honoured by the [Sigma Alpha Iota](/source/Sigma_Alpha_Iota) in 1958.<ref name=":0" /> She was also a member of [Mu Phi Epsilon](/source/Mu_Phi_Epsilon) from 1956 onward.<ref name=":2" />

== Reception ==
Kerr's popularity with audiences occasionally eclipsed her estimation by critics, though she was consistently well received by her peers.<ref name=":1" /> Writing in 1957, [Abram Chasins](/source/Abram_Chasins) described Kerr as one of his contemporaries "whose abilities exceed their public recognition."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chasins |first=Abram |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Speaking_of_Pianists/dZUsAAAAMAAJ? |title=Speaking of Pianists ... |date=1957 |publisher=Knopf |pages=161 |language=en}}</ref>

Throughout her lifetime, Kerr was regarded by the residents of her birth city and province as a source of pride.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":8" />'''<ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last=Cameron |first=Dan |date=20 January 1961 |title=In the Music World |work=The Leader Post |pages=18}}</ref>'''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wallace |first=B. W. |date=27 April 1938 |title=Old Music Days: Saskatchewan Resident of Earlier Years Sends Interesting Reminiscences |work=The Leader Post |pages=4}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite news |last=Cameron |first=Dan |date=7 January 1938 |title=Three Girls "Who Made Good" On Regina's Music Calendar |work=The Leader Post |pages=20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=30 November 1940 |title=West Has Given the Dominion Many Musicians |work=The Ottawa Evening Citizen |pages=21}}</ref> She featured often in the column of Dan Cameron, long-running music correspondent for the Regina-based ''[Leader Post](/source/Regina_Leader-Post).<ref name=":11" />''<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 10, 2007 |title=Dan Cameron |url=https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dan-cameron-emc |access-date=2026-02-19 |website=[The Canadian Encyclopedia](/source/The_Canadian_Encyclopedia) |language=en}}</ref>''<ref name=":12">{{Cite news |last=Cameron |first=Dan |date=6 January 1962 |title=In the Music World |work=The Leader Post |pages=11}}</ref>''<ref name=":13">{{Cite news |last=Cameron |first=Dan |date=14 February 1947 |title=In the Music World |work=The Leader Post |pages=4}}</ref> Cameron himself had assisted Kerr when she performed as a novelty "child pianist" across Saskatchewan in her youth''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 10, 1924 |title=Social and Personal |work=The Morning Leader |pages=2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=21 October 1924 |title=Seats Now Selling for Muriel Kerr |work=The Saskatoon Daily Star |pages=7}}</ref>'' Throughout her career, he occasionally reprinted reviews sent in by readers from other newspapers about performances that had featured Kerr, but only the sections related to her.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":13" />

== Personal life and death ==
Kerr owned a [Turkish Angora](/source/Turkish_Angora) cat during the 1930s, which was a "constant companion" during her four hours of daily practice.<ref name=":14">{{Cite news |date=January 31, 1938 |title=Music Not Only Career But Hobby |work=The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |pages=9}}</ref> Though she described music as both her career and principal hobby, she was also noted to enjoy [bridge](/source/Contract_bridge) and [ping-pong](/source/Table_tennis).<ref name=":14" /> While travelling, she enjoyed reading [classic literature](/source/Classic_book) and biographies.<ref name=":14" />

In 1928, Kerr, then 17, [eloped](/source/Elopement) to marry Harry Fagin, a 21-year-old violinist and fellow Juilliard student.<ref name=":15">{{Cite news |date=7 April 1928 |title=Miss Muriel Kerr, Pianist, Elopes to Wed in Gotham, Parents are Kept in Dark |work=The Morning Leader |pages=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Times |first=Special to The New York |date=1930-10-04 |title=MURIEL KERR STARS IN LISZT CONCERTO; Young Pianist Scores Triumph in Afternoon Program of Worcester Festival. PERCY GRAINGER IS HEARD He Gives "Spoon River" at "Artists' Night"--Part of Wagner's "Tannhaeuser" Presented. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/10/04/archives/muriel-kerr-stars-in-liszt-concerto-young-pianist-scores-triumph-in.html |access-date=2026-02-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":20">{{Cite news |date=1928-05-05 |title=JUILLIARD ORCHESTRA DELIGHTS THRONG; Foundation's Graduate School Repeats Two Score Potential Artists. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/05/05/archives/juilliard-orchestra-delights-throng-foundations-graduate-school.html |access-date=2026-02-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite journal |date=1928-03-28 |title=Marriages |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1928-03-28_90_11/ |journal=Variety |volume=90 |issue=11 |pages=46 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The marriage took Kerr's parents by surprise, though Ernest Hutcheson was aware of his students' intentions and kept their plan to marry a secret.<ref name=":15" /> To the [justice of the peace](/source/justice_of_the_peace) who married them, Kerr and Fagin claimed to be aged 21 and 24 respectively.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16" /> They divorced in September 1937.<ref name=":17">{{Cite news |date=9 April 1938 |title=Music and Musicians |work=The Calgary Daily Herald |pages=26}}</ref>

During the 1930s, Kerr performed with the Gordon String Quartet, of which [Russia](/source/Russia)n-born cellist Naoum Benditzky (1901–1972) was also a member.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=1938-04-01 |title=MURIEL KERR BRIDE TODAY; Gordon Quartet Pianist to Be Wed to Naoum Benditzky, 'Cellist |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/04/01/archives/muriel-kerr-bride-today-gordon-quartet-pianist-to-be-wed-to-naoum.html |access-date=2026-02-18 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Zilberman |first=Yuri |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/%D0%A0%D1%83%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD/s_iRDwAAQBAJ |title=Русская корреспонденция Владимира Горовица в архиве Йельского университета |date=2019-04-11 |publisher=ЛитРес |isbn=978-5-04-165157-2 |language=ru |trans-title=Vladimir Horowitz's Russian correspondence in the Yale University archives}}</ref><ref name=":17" /> They married in April 1938 and remained together until Kerr's death.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":17" /><ref name=":3" />

=== Death ===
Kerr died at her home in 1963 after suffering a fatal [asthma](/source/asthma) attack.<ref name=":3" /> Her Schumann and Hindemith recordings were reissued in 1966 to fund a scholarship in Kerr's honour.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thistle |first=Lauretta |date=2 July 1966 |title=Miss Caballe superb in zarzuelas |work=The Ottawa Citizen |pages=75}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Siskind |first=Jacob |date=27 August 1966 |title=Virtuoso! The Disappearance Of An Unlamented Breed |work=The Gazette |pages=16}}</ref>

== Notable students ==

* [Fredric Myrow](/source/Fred_Myrow) – composer of the soundtracks for ''[Soylent Green](/source/Soylent_Green)'', ''[Scarecrow](/source/Scarecrow_(1973_film))'', and ''[Phantasm](/source/Phantasm_(film)).''<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Who_s_who_in_America_with_World_Notables/3g0OSwAACAAJ?hl=en |title=Who's who in America with World Notables: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women Vol 36 (1970–1971) |date=1971 |publisher=Marquis Who's Who |pages=1648 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Variety |date=1999-01-19 |title=Fredric Myrow |url=https://variety.com/1999/scene/people-news/fredric-myrow-1117882734/ |access-date=2026-02-18 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [Michael Tilson Thomas](/source/Michael_Tilson_Thomas) – conductor, pianist, and composer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-10-06 |title=Critic's Notebook: Michael Tilson Thomas returns to his alma mater, USC |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/culture-monster-blog/story/2009-10-06/critics-notebook-michael-tilson-thomas-returns-to-his-alma-mater-usc |access-date=2026-02-18 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ewen |first=David |title=Musicians since 1900: performers in concert and opera |date=1978 |publisher=H. W. Wilson Co |isbn=978-0-8242-0565-2 |location=New York |pages=882}}</ref>
* [Marilyn Neeley](/source/Marilyn_Neeley) – [Emmy Award](/source/Emmy_Award)-winning pianist.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Husarik |first=Stephen |url=https://books.google.ca/books/about/American_Keyboard_Artists.html?id=WJo7AQAAIAAJ |title=American Keyboard Artists |date=1992 |publisher=Chicago Biographical Center |pages=279 |language=en}}</ref>
* [Zhanna Arshanskaya Dawson](/source/Zhanna_Arshanskaya_Dawson) – Russian-American pianist and [Holocaust](/source/The_Holocaust) survivor; mother of journalist [Greg Dawson](/source/Greg_Dawson).<ref name=":18">{{Cite news |last=Mitchell |first=S. |date=May 23, 1961 |title=Local Concert Pianist Receives Music Award |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/550347728/ |work=The Herald-Times |pages=5 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Ancestry.com)}}</ref> Kerr, described as Zhanna Dawson's "hero," played at the reception of Zhanna's wedding in 1947.<ref name=":18" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dawson |first=Greg |title=Hiding in the spotlight: a musical prodigy's story of survival, 1941 – 1946 |date=2009 |publisher=Pegasus Books |isbn=978-1-60598-045-4 |location=New York |pages=247–260}}</ref>

== References ==

<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Muriel}}
Category:1911 births
Category:1963 deaths
Category:20th-century Canadian women pianists
Category:Canadian music educators
Category:Juilliard School faculty
Category:University of Southern California faculty
Category:Musicians from Saskatchewan

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Muriel Kerr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muriel_Kerr) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muriel_Kerr?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.