The violist performed with the orchestra for over 40 years
The Baltimore Musician’s Union has announced the death of US violist Mary Woehr from cancer, stating that she died quietly in her sleep at Sinai Hospital on 21 July. She was 72 years old.
Born to a musical family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Woehr studied at the Chautauqua Institution and Bowling Green State University. Her teachers included Albert Hirtz, Michael Stolarevski, Francis Tursi, Bruno Giuranna, and Bernard Lindon.
Woehr went on to play with ensembles including the Toledo and Chautauqua symphony orchestras, the London Sinfonia in Ontario, the Dallas Ballet Orchestra, new music group Voices of Change, and was a founding member of the Turbine wind and piano trio. In 1982 she joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and remained until her retirement in 2023.
A lover of cats, Woehr gave her felines names after music publishers: Kalmus, Schirmer, and Boosey and Hawkes.
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra paid tribute to the violist on social media:
‘It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our former violist, Mary Woehr. Mary was a beloved fixture at the BSO and especially during our Academy week as the solo accompanist (she was equally talented on piano as well as viola!… Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and loved ones.’
Read: Obituary: violin competition founder Michael Hill (1938-2025)
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