Remembering Annabelle Joseph

I met Annabelle in the fall of 1989 when she was a newly appointed faculty member and I was an incoming freshman at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music. Over the next four years, I studied solfège with Annabelle and eurhythmics with both Annabelle and Marta Sanchez, and I attended my first Dalcroze eurhythmics summer course in 1991 (and have not missed one since). I worked with Annabelle and Marta through all four years of my undergraduate experience, then came back two years later to focus on Dalcroze pedagogy during my master’s degree. Then two years after that, Annabelle invited me to return to CMU to team-teach the eurhythmics curriculum with her. Our program requires four semesters (140 contact hours over two years) of eurhythmics for all music majors. We shared the four semesters (me teaching Eur I and II, Annabelle teaching Eur III and IV) for fifteen years before she started her phased retirement. I am now in my twenty-sixth year and owe so much of the success of our programs to the leadership and vision of Annabelle Joseph. As Marta retired and Annabelle took the reins, she worked tirelessly to keep our programs (undergraduate, graduate, community, and training center) active, caring, and musically vibrant. 

Annabelle was a concert pianist, a composer, a theorist, and a deeply empathetic leader. She planned her lessons anew every week. She met one-on-one with each of her one hundred students every semester to just ask them who they were, where they came from, and where they were heading. She cared deeply for all of us but was not at all a softy. Annabelle had standards we were all expected to rise to, and she cared about the work. She believed deeply in the Dalcroze philosophy and method and was a tireless advocate for music and movement, improvisation, and connections between music and the holistic body/mind. I will forever treasure memories of summer picnics at her house, folk dancing with Annabelle and her husband Jay, and the role of jazz, live performance, and new music in her teaching. I think of her every time I am tempted to speed through anything and can hear her coaching me to slow down, break it into smaller pieces, and be satisfied with doing less, but better. 

We, the international Dalcroze community and the Carnegie Mellon School of Music, are so fortunate to have known and worked with Annabelle for so many years. She was a model of deep musicianship, indefatigable leadership, and generosity and kindness in all of her interactions.

Stephen Neely

I had the privilege of sharing the last six years of her life with Dr. Annabelle Sachs Joseph. Many of you had a gift of sharing years with Dr. Joseph as a colleague, mentor, and teacher; even though I met Dr. Joseph after she retired, she was always a teacher. She opened my ears and eyes to music, art, and culture that I had never thought of. I was a born and bred country music hillbilly. Now I find myself listening to jazz piano and even violin music (thanks to Monique).

Annabelle opened my world by sharing her memories and experiences from her vast travel of the world. She brought so many amazing, talented, and kind people into my life. I was always touched and still am by the warm welcome I was given by Judi, Stephen, Melissa, Monique, and her beloved cousin Esther. As for Leslie (Annabelle’s daughter) and Fred, I will always feel myself to be part of the Bonci family.

Let me say that I have been a caregiver for fortyyears. But “my Annabelle”, yes, “my Annabelle” was not a job to me. She was a beloved friend, a part of my family.  We talked, we laughed, we cried together. My mother and Annabelle talked often, always sending cards and flowers to each other. My whole family never asked how I was. It was, “How is Annabelle? Did she have a nice day?”

Annabelle had the it factor that just drew people to her. She certainly drew me in. I met her during a difficult time in her life. Her beloved husband was dealing with serious health issues. I was immediately in awe of their complete love and devotion to each other. We did lose Jay, but Annabelle carried on. I’ll always remember Jay’s shiva. Yes, there were tears, but they were far outweighed by the music and singing and dancing. As Leslie said, “That was their life, music and dancing.” Dr. Joseph celebrated her ninety-second birthday at the senior home, with much laughter, music, love, and lots of flowers and cupcakes.

A final memory of my Annabelle: the senior home was pet friendly. On a lovely afternoon, Leslie and I were sitting with her mom and many new friends. Another resident came by with her little dog and stopped to talk. I lifted the little dog up and set her on Annabelle’s lap, and Annabelle lit up like a Christmas tree. Leslie asked, “Mom, would you like a little pet? I’ll get you one.” Annabelle reached over and petted me and said, “I already have one.” This is one of my most precious memories of Annabelle that I have tucked in my heart. I was blessed to be with Annabelle when she left us. She gifted me with a smile and left us.

Here is what I hope that everyone who is gathered here will remember always. Please remember that amazing smile, that incredible gift of music, but also that amazing sense of humor that was in her. That’s what I remember. I’ll miss you, my friend, and thank you for adopting me.

Carol Healy, companion and friend

Who was Annabelle for me?

I met Dr. Annabelle Joseph at the ISME twenty-first International Conference in Tampa, Florida, in 1994.  From then on I was in constant communication with her. I will always thank Annabelle for opening the doors for me at CMU to continue learning about Dalcroze pedagogy and for allowing me to teach at the program.

Annabelle was always willing to help me and guide me regardless of the language barrier. She took her time at everything she did; her deep understanding about Dalcroze philosophy was evident in her teaching. I will never forget her interesting classes and her lengthy explanations about what Dalcroze pedagogy was.

During my five-month stay as visiting professor at CMU, I had the opportunity to enjoy concerts, dinners, and many beautiful moments with Annabelle and my friend Judy Cagley. The last time I saw Annabelle was at the nursing home she lived at during a touching visit Judy, Leslie Upchurch, and I had with her. 

I will always remember Annabelle as an extraordinary professional and beautiful 

person. Thanks, Annabelle, for all you did for me and for all your students around the world. Your example of wisdom and expertise will be in my heart forever. 

Silvia Contreras Andrews

The traditions in Dalcroze eurhythmics are handed down through our relationships. Like an extended game of telephone, master teachers whisper to us, inspiring our own approach and sharing their wisdom acquired from decades in the classroom. Annabelle Joseph was part of a generation of Dalcroze practitioners that fought hard for their approach and elbowed their way into some of the most prestigious institutions in American academia. Her musicianship was unimpeachable, paired with a quick wit and deep knowledge; she was the sort of teacher I still aspire to be. Kind, impassioned, curious, but holding the highest of standards for herself and her students–Annabelle made us all better. We stand on her shoulders, not only those of us from the Carnegie Mellon community but any Dalcrozian who carries on this work. She called on us to be brave, to take our own journey of self-discovery, and to whisper our stories in the ears of the next generation.

Anthony Molinaro

I met Annabelle in 1997 when Marta Sánchez invited me to attend the CMU Dalcroze summer workshop for the first time. That summer was a landmark in my music career because after having a joyful and enriching musical experience in movement, I decided to pursue professional Dalcroze training. Annabelle was a living example of endless generosity, sharing countless hours of her time to advise students in professional and personal matters. She was one of the most encouraging teachers I have had, and I will always thank her for believing in me as a musician and as a person.

Every one of her lessons, particularly those in piano improvisation, were addressed with true care for her students’ needs at that particular moment. She was a particularly fine teacher for beginner improvisation by smoothly walking, step by step, through foundations. I had the fortune to have her twice in my hometown, Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, in 2003 and 2011. On both occasions, her flexibility in adapting to Mexican culture and learning styles made her visits memorable. 

Annabelle enjoyed world folk dancing. She and her beloved husband Jay were the first couple to start the dance during the summer evenings at CMU. A brilliant and insightful person, Annabelle opened the doors of her home and heart for all of us who had the fortune to learn from her.

Elda Nelly Treviño Flores, PhD.

I remember the first time I saw Annabelle, which was at the start of eurhythmics class during the 2012 summer workshop. A small woman, bright of eye, autumnal in color palette, greeted warmly by students and other faculty alike. I had no idea what I was going to experience next; how could I even guess?

The classroom transformed under her hands. Truly, ease is the mark of the expert, and the ease with which Annabelle moved us was remarkable. Annabelle at the piano became a master tailor, stitching through me with silvery musical thread, connecting my mind and body until it became my full artistic self.

I was, in a single word, addicted. I had to know how she did everything she did. What choices she made at the piano, how she planned her classes, how she sized up her students and got them to be successful at their tasks, how joy and laughter permeated the lessons, how she operated at the micro and macro level. Carnegie Mellon wove eurhythmics into my practice, but it was Annabelle’s guidance that got me to so thoroughly integrate Dalcroze into my life.

Though our time together was brief, it was impactful. She had such expectations of us! I still feel the weight of them. I see her in my mind’s eye during a lesson in her apartment, swinging emphatically, telling us to move. But I also see her smiling at us from behind the keyboard as she played an exercise–one I memorized that day and still play from time to time to test my memory. That was another incredible thing about her: She was a wonderful composer, with an ear for melody and a turn of harmony that made you think, Oh, of course, there was never any other choice for what was next.

I can only hope to live up to Annabelle’s expectations of us. I imagine, one day, I might hear a single, solitary clap after I’ve concluded a lesson, and in that moment, think to myself that I’ve done it. Thank you, Annabelle, for changing my entire life.

Michelle Li

All I really need to know I learned from Annabelle Joseph.

The book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum, first published in 1986, was quite popular in the age of self-realization and improvement. The title came to mind in remembering the many things I was privileged to learn from Annabelle.

My introduction to Annabelle came in the context of observing her teaching eurythmics to three- and four-year-olds in the inner city public schools of Pittsburgh during the late 1960s. Our experiences over the years are too numerous to mention, including many trips in the USA and abroad and an amazing sabbatical study year in 2000–2001. 

As part of a grant from the federal government, Annabelle joined a team of teachers recruited by Marta Sanchez and specially trained by Hilda Schuster of the Dalcroze School of New York City. I watched Annabelle lead a group of ten three- and four-year-old children through a succession of activities, which I had never imagined to be possible. She made the half-hour class seem easy. Almost sixty years later, I realize her lesson plans were always meticulously crafted and entered into her small loose-leaf notebook with a very sharp pencil. When I joined the preschool eurythmics teachers team, Annabelle was our supervisor, replacing Brunhilde Dorsch, of fond memory.  

It is hard for me to picture Annabelle without her dear friend and colleague Marta Sanchez. The two of them produced an amazing body of work during the time they collaborated from 1957 until April 2005: from founding the Carnegie Mellon Dalcroze Training Center, complete with three satellite programs in Asia, to groundbreaking work in interactive computer instruction, known as Piano Tutor. Two other partnerships defined Annabelle. One was with her duo piano partner, recitalist, and friend Hyla Melnick, with whom she kept in touch.

Most importantly, her life partner and husband Jay was with her from high school through more than sixty years of marriage. They shared a loving family, the treasure of good friends, folk dancing, a love of jazz, good food, and good music in many genres.

After Marta and Annabelle retired from teaching undergraduates, a familiar scene played out in our small office: a tap on the door, a head popping in, asking if one of them was still on campus. Again and again, the same words. “I just wanted them to know that I finally get it. I was not the best or the most cooperative student, but now I understand why that class was so important.”

Annabelle never promoted her own achievements; those were added over time and with persistent hard work. Annabelle achieved the trifecta in academic and Dalcroze worlds: the diplôme supérieure through Geneva, Switzerland; doctor of arts in music through Carnegie Mellon; and achieving the rank of full professor at CMU.

The Dalcroze Society of America under the leadership of Bill Bauer did a wonderful job of recognizing the lifelong achievements of American leaders who were retiring from work. Bill traveled to Pittsburgh for a delightful afternoon of music, good food, and reminiscing with Annabelle and Jay. The DSA should know how much it meant for her to be recognized in this way.

Our last trip together was to Japan in 2014, when Annabelle was given special recognition for a lifetime of achievement in eurhythmics and for her role in founding the Japanese satellite of the Dalcroze training center, which has functioned independently for some time. I learned how to be a hostess, an organizer, a teacher, and a musician, while never forgetting that the basis for all these roles was simply embracing one’s own humanity and respecting the humanity of others.

All these things, and more, I learned from Annabelle Joseph.

Judy Cagley, lifelong friend and colleague