by Beverly Simmons & Ross W. Duffin — Special to ClevelandClassical

Gretchen Garnett died one day short of her hundredth birthday last month. When we arrived at Case Western Reserve in 1978, she was the longest-serving faculty member in the Music Department. She had been “grandfathered in” as an applied teacher of voice after the Joint Music Program was established between Case Western Reserve and the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1968, when CIM was given responsibility for all the applied music.

She continued to teach voice students with great success until her retirement around 1990. An extraordinary person and a joy to be around, she would hum happily as she walked, smile at everyone, and speak plainly and directly. Her wit was in evidence at the lunch we shared just before her 99th birthday and, when her 100th birthday party had to be postponed for other reasons, she suggested a date next March. So we were all shocked that she didn’t make it even to December 16 – the birthday she shared with Beethoven. [Read more…]