rec. 1956
Jeanne Behrend (11 May 1911 -- 20 March 1988) was an American pianist, music educator, musicologist and composer.
Jeanne Behrend was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the Curtis Institute in 1934, where she studied piano with Josef Hofmann and composition with Rosario Scalero.
After completing her education, she worked as a pianist and composer and taught music at Juilliard, the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music, and Temple University. Becoming aware of the lack of opportunity for American composers, she became a champion of American music and concentrated on her career as a performer.
Behrend received the Joseph Bearns prize from Columbia University in 1936 for composition. She was recommended for sponsorship by Heitor Villa-Lobos and toured in South America from 1945-46. She founded and directed the Philadelphia Festival of Western Hemisphere Music in 1959 and 1960 and was awarded the Order of the Southern Cross from Brazil. Behrend died in Philadelphia and her papers are housed in the Free Library in the city.
