Muriel Kerr

Muriel Kerr Benditzky (née Kerr; January 18, 1911 – September 18, 1963) was a Canadian pianist and music instructor with the Juilliard School and University of Southern California.^[1][2][3]

Kerr was born in Regina, Saskatchewan to Lorence and Edith Kerr.^[4][3][5][6] Lorence was prominent in Regina's business community as the owner of Kerr Land Company, a real estate development business, and co-owner of the Kerr-Patton Coal Company.^[6][7] During his lifetime, he was known as the developer of the "impressive" multistory Kerr Block on Regina's Scarth Street.^[6][8] The house he built in Regina for his family in 1911, the Kerr Residence (2326 College Avenue), became a municipal heritage property in 2007, and remains on the National Historic Sites of Canada register as of 2026.^[6][7]

Muriel Kerr began learning piano early in life and gave her first public performance at the age of seven, playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24.^[1][9][10] Her grade school friends would later recall that her mother "kept [Kerr] to a stringent schedule of four to six hours of practice daily."^[5] Kerr was not allowed to play with friends outdoors until she completed her assigned study, which she would do "obediently, though not always happily".^[5]

For a short time, she studied under Paul Wells in Toronto at the Royal Conservatory of Music.^[11] Hoping to further Kerr's music career, her family relocated to the United States permanently in 1919.^[5][7]

In 1920, Kerr won a scholarship to study with Percy Grainger in Chicago for seven weeks over the summer.^[9] Kerr remained in Chicago for two years under the mentorship of Alexander Raab until Raab left for Europe in 1922.^[9] Kerr subsequently relocated to New York City to work with Ernest Hutcheson, studying privately for four years before serving as his assistant at Juilliard between 1926 and 1930.^[9][12]

In 1928, Kerr was among the first recipients of the Franz Schubert Memorial Award.^[13] This afforded her an opportunity to record music for Victor Records, perform with the New York Philharmonic, and debut at the Town Hall.^[14] Kerr's 1928 recital with the Philharmonic was poorly received by critics, though her 1929 performance at the Town Hall attracted more positive reviews.^[9] For Victor Records, Kerr recorded two Scriabin Études.^[9]

Kerr maintained a career as a concert pianist from the 1930s onward,^[9] performing under her maiden name during her two marriages.^[12][15] She embarked on her first European tour in 1948,^[1][16] and recorded compositions by Robert Schumann and Paul Hindemith for Victor Records in 1952.^[17]

In 1942, Kerr began teaching at Juilliard.^[9] She visited its first president, John Erskine, at his home throughout his 1949 recovery from a cerebral haemorrhage to play music for him.^[18] Her relationship with Erskine's successor, William Schuman, was not as positive.^[19] In March 1950, she resigned in protest after Schuman introduced a policy terminating the employment of older instructors such as Carl Friedberg.^[19]

Kerr joined the faculty of the University of Southern California in 1955,^[20] and began serving as the director of the Punahou Music School in Honolulu in 1957.^[1] In the latter role, Kerr organized an annual festival of contemporary music and art.^[1] For her contributions to Hawaii's musical development, she was honoured by the Sigma Alpha Iota in 1958.^[1] She was also a member of Mu Phi Epsilon from 1956 onward.^[12]

Kerr's popularity with audiences occasionally eclipsed her estimation by critics, though she was consistently well received by her peers.^[9] Writing in 1957, Abram Chasins described Kerr as one of his contemporaries "whose abilities exceed their public recognition."^[21]

Throughout her lifetime, Kerr was regarded by the residents of her birth city and province as a source of pride.^{[5][8][22][23][24][25]} She featured often in the column of Dan Cameron, long-running music correspondent for the Regina-based Leader Post.^{[24][26][27][28]} Cameron himself had assisted Kerr when she performed as a novelty "child pianist" across Saskatchewan in her youth.^[29][30] Throughout her career, he occasionally reprinted reviews sent in by readers from other newspapers about performances that had featured Kerr, but only the sections related to her.^[22][27][28]

Kerr owned a Turkish Angora cat during the 1930s, which was a "constant companion" during her four hours of daily practice.^[31] Though she described music as both her career and principal hobby, she was also noted to enjoy bridge and ping-pong.^[31] While travelling, she enjoyed reading classic literature and biographies.^[31]

In 1928, Kerr, then 17, eloped to marry Harry Fagin, a 21-year-old violinist and fellow Juilliard student.^{[32][33][15][34]} The marriage took Kerr's parents by surprise, though Ernest Hutcheson was aware of his students' intentions and kept their plan to marry a secret.^[32] To the justice of the peace who married them, Kerr and Fagin claimed to be aged 21 and 24 respectively.^[32][34] They divorced in September 1937.^[35]

During the 1930s, Kerr performed with the Gordon String Quartet, of which Russian-born cellist Naoum Benditzky (1901–1972) was also a member.^{[12][36][37][35]} They married in April 1938 and remained together until Kerr's death.^[36][35][20]

Kerr died at her home in 1963 after suffering a fatal asthma attack.^[20] Her Schumann and Hindemith recordings were reissued in 1966 to fund a scholarship in Kerr's honour.^[38][39]

• Fredric Myrow – composer of the soundtracks for Soylent Green, Scarecrow, and Phantasm.^[40][41]
• Michael Tilson Thomas – conductor, pianist, and composer.^[42][43]
• Marilyn Neeley – Emmy Award-winning pianist.^[44]
• Zhanna Arshanskaya Dawson – Russian-American pianist and Holocaust survivor; mother of journalist Greg Dawson.^[45] Kerr, described as Zhanna Dawson's "hero," played at the reception of Zhanna's wedding in 1947.^[45][46]