Leonard Feldman, cellist
Hyfler/Rosner
Leonard Feldman, 70, of State College, died on Wednesday, August 27, 2003,
at his home.
Born in New York City on March 24, 1933, he was a son of the late William
Feldman and Rebecca Gollub Feldman.
On Sept. 1, 1958, he married Joanne Zagst, who survives.
A professional cellist, his principal teachers were William Ebann, Gabor
Rejto, Bernard Greenhouse and Leonard Rose. He attended the High School of
Music and Art and the Juilliard School in New York, and he held bachelor's
and master's degrees from The Eastman School, Rochester, N.Y.
He performed with the Early Music Foundation in New York, served as solo
cellist for four years with the U.S. Army Band and was an assistant
principal cellist of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, cellist with the
Dayton, Springfield and Columbus symphonies, and principal cellist of the
Altoona Symphony and, most recently, the Nittany Valley Symphony in State
College. He was a cello soloist on tour with the Pennsylvania Ballet and a
performer at the Bartok Seminars in Budapest and at the Claremont California
Festival.
He held teaching positions at Wilmington College in Ohio and at the
University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. In 1962, he joined
the faculty of Penn State's music department as a member of the Alard String
Quartet, which was the university's resident string quartet until 1989.
As a member of the quartet, he toured extensively in the United States,
Europe, Latin America and the Pacific. On the University Park campus and the
commonwealth campuses, he assisted in at least 200 Alard Quartet concerts,
premiered several new works for string quartet, performed numerous solo
cello recitals, and taught cello, classes in music history, string methods
and music appreciation for non-music majors. He had a large private studio,
launching several students into careers in music.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons, William, of
Gaithersburg, Md., and Stephen, of Little Rock, Ark.; a daughter, Sylvia, of
State College; a daughter-in-law, Suzanne Loerch Feldman; two grandchildren,
Ezra and Anna, of Little Rock; and a brother, Adrian, and his wife, Sandra,
of Huntington, Conn.
He was an avid reader and student of history, and he enjoyed walking. A high
point of his life was walking the Milford Track in New Zealand's South
Island with his wife in 1992.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Nittany Valley
Symphony, P.O. Box 1375, State College, PA 16804; Penn State's School of
Music, 233 Music Building, University Park, PA 16802; Brookline Home Health
Care and Hospice, 3901 S. Atherton St., State College, PA 16801; Habitat for
Humanity, P. O. Box 313, State College, PA 16804; Heifer Project
International, P.O. Box 8058, Little Rock, AR 72203; the Women's Resource
Center, 140 W. Nittany Avenue, State College, PA 16801; or a local charity
of the donor's choice.
A memorial gathering will be scheduled at a later date.
Arrangements are under the direction of Koch Funeral Home, 2401 S. Atherton
St., State College.