Martha Alter
Martha Alter was an American pianist, music teacher and composer.
Life and career
Martha Alter was born in New [Bloomfield, Pennsylvania|New Bloomfield], Pennsylvania, to parents David Boyd and Daisy Myrl Alter. She graduated from Vassar College in 1925. Alter continued her studies, receiving a master's in musicology from Columbia University and a master's of music composition from Eastman [School of Music], studying with Ernest Hutcheson, Rubin Goldmark, Howard Hanson and Bernard Rogers.She taught at Vassar College from 1929-1931 and took a position teaching music at Connecticut College in 1942. She died in Newport, Pennsylvania, and her papers are housed at the Vassar College Libraries.
Works
Selected compositions include:- O Bethlehem
- Peace
- Bill George, march and song for baritone and orchestra, poem by Malcolm Cowley
- Anthony Cotnstock or A Puritan's Progress, ballet
- Groceries and Notions, drama with Gertrude Brown, book by K.K. Doughtie