Edith Borroff
Borroff was born in New York City, the daughter of professional musicians Marie Bergerson and (Albert) Ramon Borroff, and sister of poet Marie Borroff. The family moved to Chicago in 1941. Borroff studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the American Conservatory of Music, graduating with a Bachelor of Music in 1946, a Master of Music in composition in 1948. Her education included studying organ with Claire Coci at Oberlin College and voice with Frances Grund. She joined the faculty at Milwaukee-Downer College from 1950–54 while continuing her studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, graduating with a Ph.D. in historical musicology by 1958. Her dissertation was titled "The instrumental works of Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville."
In an 2011 interview with the American Composers Alliance, Borroff shared that she had always considered herself a composer. She started composing at a very young. According to her, she was not allowed to pursue a degree in composition and settled for a degree in historical musicology but continued to compose and had over 60 commissions as a composer. An extensive, yet selective, list of her works appears in the biographical article on Borroff in the "Oxford Music Online/Grove Music" dictionary accessible from most privatized university library databases. After completing her studies, Borroff worked as a composer and music professor. She taught at Hillsdale College (where she also was associate dean) 1958-1962, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 1962-1966, Eastern Michigan University 1966-1972, and State University of New York at Binghamton, 1973 to 1992. Her "Concerto for Marimba and Small Orchestra" was premiered with that university's orchestra in 1981, with Alex Jacobowitz as marimba soloist and Paul Jordan as conductor. Borroff retired from teaching in 1992. Her papers are housed at the Newberry Library. She died in Durham, North Carolina on March 10, 2019. Selected works:
Life and career
Edith Borroff (August 2, 1925 – March 10, 2019) was an American musicologist and composer.