Grace Vamos

Grace Becker Vamos (April 17, 1898 – March 25, 1992) was an American cellist, composer, and educator.

Early life and education Vamos grew up in Berkeley, California. Her mother played piano, her father played violin, and they hosted frequent chamber music sessions during her childhood. The family had an unused cello, which she learned how to play. with flutist Christine Howells Pfund and harpist Marie Hughes Marguarrie, which performed frequently, often playing arrangements by Vamos.

Vamos endowed several scholarships and awards: the Grace Becker Vamos Scholarship for promising young cellists in 1975; the Grace Vamos Scholarship Trust and the Ernest Vamos Memorial Scholarship at Holy Names College (now Holy Names University) in 1981; and the Grace Vamos National Cello Competition in 1990. She later endowed the Contra Costa String Association annual competition, stipulating that at least one of her works be performed each year. The String Association later added a Grace Vamos Division to the competition. Upon her death, ownership of all copyrighted works was transferred to Ariel Witbeck, a dear friend and local cellist to the San Francisco Bay area. These works were later gifted to Vamos Publications, which incorporated in the State of Washington in 2022.

Compositions

Cello(s) 18th Century Classics (for two cellos) Adios Baroque Trios (for three cellos) Cello Concerto in D minor Cello Concerto in E minor Duos (for two cellos) Five Pieces: A Collection of First Position Pieces (etudes) Suite for Cello and Piano Legend of the Redwoods

Flute In the NightMisty Night Orchestra Dying Eagle (dance)

Piano A Memory ImpressionsMystic IsleNonsenseRhapsody Vocal Praise Ye the Lord (choir) Three Songs''