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Martha Baird (Zeta, New England Conservatory) was initiated in 1915. She placed first in the conservatory’s annual piano competition and then graduated summa cum laude from the conservatory's soloist program. That same year (1917), she made her debut in recital at Jordan Hall in Boston on November 17, garnering solid reviews from the arts sections of major newspapers, including The Boston Globe. She then pursued further advanced studies in Berlin, Germany with the legendary pianist Artur Schnabel. Her third and final marriage – to John D. Rockefeller Jr. – enabled her to take her philanthropic work to even greater heights. On the day of her marriage (August 15, 1951) she was given a sizable trust fund by Rockefeller, which she used to establish the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music in 1957. When her third husband died in 1960, she then redirected a significant portion of her $48 million inheritance to that fund. In operation until 1982, the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music provided critical scholarship and grant support to solo artists and ensembles for a quarter of a century before it was dissolved.
Thelma Gardner Belair (Alpha Iota, University of Vermont) recounts the observations of Katrina Munn (Alpha Iota, University of Vermont) who visited the MacDowell Colony in the summer of 1946. Of particular interest is a list of artists who have occupied the Star Studio supported by Alpha Chi Omega.
This flier contains positive reviews for concerts by pianist Winifred Byrd (Zeta, New England Conservatory).