About Jessie Baetz
Lived 1894 – 1980 (aged 85–86). Jessie Baetz was a Canadian and American composer, pianist and artist.
Jessie Baetz (born Jessie Elizabeth Drummer; June 28, 1894 – November 28, 1980) the daughter of John Drummer and Esther Ann Oughtred Drummer. She studied and taught at the Toronto Conservatory of Music.
Career She immigrated to New York City, where 1930s census records list her occupation as painter. Her art was included in a Christmas exhibit at the Jumble Shop on West 8th Street. She studied with modernist composer, Johanna Beyer, and played in her concerts for the New York Composers' Forum. Baetz's music was influenced by Beyer and Henry Cowell's use of such techniques as tone clusters, polymeters, string piano, and playing the piano with forearms. Three of her works were performed at the Composers' Forum on December 15, 1937, where they were part of a program that also included music by Rudolph Forst and Harrison Kerr.
Her visual art consisted of "painting sculptures or spatial creations", including colorful masks. 1966, and 1970.
Personal life Jessie Drummer married fellow artist Walter Baetz in 1926. They lived in Shandaken, New York. In 1961 they were both rescued after a carbon monoxide accident in their home. Her husband died in 1978, and she died in November 1980, at a nursing home in New Paltz, New York, at the age of 86.
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Important facts
People in Jessie Baetz's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Jessie Baetz's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Jessie Baetz?
Canadian-American artist, composer, and pianist
When was Jessie Baetz born?
Jessie Baetz was born on 28 June 1894 in Toronto.
When did Jessie Baetz die?
Jessie Baetz died in 1980.
What was Jessie Baetz's occupation?
Jessie Baetz was a composer, pianist and artist.
What nationality was Jessie Baetz?
Jessie Baetz was Canadian and American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jessie Baetz. https://biography.guide/jessie-baetz/
MLA: "Jessie Baetz." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jessie-baetz/.
Chicago: "Jessie Baetz." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jessie-baetz/.
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