Charlotte Louise Plummer Owen (January 13, 1918 - December 18, 2004) was an American clarinetist and bandleader.
Owen was born in Minneapolis into a family which had a dance band, with which she would play weekly while growing up. She studied piano and saxophone, and at Eugene High School in Oregon was an award-winning clarinetist. At the University of Oregon she studied music education, concurrently being hired to direct the band at University High School. She graduated in 1939 and moved to take a position as an assistant band director in La Grande, Oregon, soon she moved again, to lead the instrumental and vocal ensembles at Commerce High School in Portland. In 1943 she enlisted in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve as a band clarinetist; appointed director, at the rank of Master Technical Sergeant, she became the first woman band director in the Marine Corps; [1] she was also the first woman to guest-conduct the United States Marine Corps Band, and remained the only woman so to do until 2003. [2] On September 12, 1945 in Falls Church, Virginia, [3] she married Charles Owen, a percussionist and fellow musician in the Marines, [2] and raised a family while working as an orchestral clarinetist, teaching privately as well for over sixty years. [1] In 1986 she became founder and director of the Ann Arbor Civic Band, [2] remaining in the post until 2001. In 1997 she participated in the dedication of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial by leading a band of women veterans. Owen died in Ann Arbor, Michigan. [1] For her work Owen received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Oregon School of Music and the Woman of the Year Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution. [2] Women Band Directors International offers a scholarship in her name. [4]
Lyndon Kent Lawless is an American musician and music educator best known for his creation and leadership of the Ars Musica period instrument chamber orchestra. He also developed and conducted the nationally known Youth Performing Arts School Philharmonia Orchestra.
The Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) is the oldest youth orchestra in the United States, established in 1924 as the Portland Junior Symphony (PJS). Now based in Portland, Oregon, the orchestra's origin dates back to 1910, when music teacher Mary V. Dodge began playing music for local children in Burns, Oregon. Dodge purchased instruments for the children and organized the orchestra, which would become known as the Sagebrush Symphony Orchestra. After touring the state, including a performance at the Oregon State Fair in Salem, the orchestra disbanded in 1918 when Dodge moved to Portland. There, Dodge opened a violin school and became music director of the Irvington School Orchestra.
South Eugene High School is a public high school located in Eugene, Oregon, United States.
Brigadier General Margaret A. Brewer was the first woman in the United States Marine Corps to reach general officer rank.
Sally Ann Walker is an Australian university administrator and lawyer. She served as the fifth Vice-Chancellor and President of Deakin University (2003–2010) and was the first woman to be appointed to the position.
Douglass is a community on the north side of Memphis, Tennessee. Douglass was named after Frederick Douglass, who was admired by William Rush-Plummer, the one-time owner of the land where the Douglass neighborhood currently stands.
Women in the Air Force (WAF) was a program which served to bring women into limited roles in the United States Air Force. WAF was formed in 1948 when President Truman signed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, allowing women to serve directly in the military. The WAF program ended in 1976 when women were accepted into the USAF on an equal basis with men.
Joseph Edgar Maddy was an American music educator and conductor.
Francea ("Francie") Norma Kraker Goodridge is a former women's track and field athlete and coach from the United States. She set a world record in the 600-yard indoor event and was the first Michigan-born woman to win a place on the U.S. Olympic team. She later coached women's track at the University of Michigan, Wake Forest University and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she was also the Coordinator of Women's Athletics. She has been inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, the University of Michigan Women's Track and Field Hall of Fame and the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.
Harold Leon Breeden was a jazz educator and musician.
Jewel Plummer Cobb was an American biologist, cancer researcher, professor, dean, and academic administrator. She contributed to the field of cancer research by studying the cure for melanoma. Cobb was an advocate for increasing the representation of women and students of color in universities, and she created programs to support students interested in pursuing graduate school.
Mary Wright Plummer was an American librarian who became the second female president of the American Library Association (1915–1916).
Marsha Eve Mabrey is an African American conductor and educator. She was the first African American woman to be appointed and serve as the conductor of the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra.
Oleta Lawanda Crain was an African-American military officer, federal civil servant, and advocate for black women's rights and desegregation. Out of 300 women nationwide who entered officer training in the U.S. military in 1943, she was one of the three African Americans. She served in the United States Air Force for 20 years, retiring with the rank of major. In 1964 she began working for the United States Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., becoming regional administrator of its Women's Bureau in Denver, Colorado, in 1984. She traveled and spoke extensively to women about employment rights, wages, and career opportunities. She received numerous awards and honors, and was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1988.
Jason K. Fettig is a band director, conductor, and former Marine colonel who currently works as Director of Bands at the University of Michigan. Before his hiring, he served as the 28th director of the United States Marine Band and music adviser to the President of the United States.
George Rudolph Cavender Jr. was an American music educator and director best known for his association with the University of Michigan, where he led the university's bands, including the Michigan Marching Band, from 1952 until 1978, first as Assistant Director and then as Director. During those twenty-six years, Cavender worked closely with William Revelli to develop the Michigan Band into a globally recognized performance group.
Susan Slaughter is an American orchestral trumpet player. She was principal trumpet player of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for 40 years, from 1972 until 2010. She is the first woman to hold the position of principal trumpet in a major American orchestra. She is also the founder of the International Women's Brass Conference and Monarch Brass, an all female brass ensemble.
MaryBelle Johns Nissly was an American conductor and music educator.