Ursula Mamlok

Ursula Mamlok ( Meyer; February 1, 1923 – May 4, 2016) was a German-born American composer and teacher.

Education and influences Mamlok was born as Ursula Meyer in Berlin, Germany, into a Jewish family, and studied piano and composition with Professor Gustav Ernest and Emily Weissgerber until her family fled Nazi Germany following the nationwide pogrom in 1938.

Due to American immigration quotas, the family moved to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Ursula emigrated alone to New York City in 1940 to attend the Mannes School of Music, which had offered her full scholarship on the basis of one of her compositions.

Career and awards Also an influential teacher, Mamlok held many university positions including placements at: New York University (1967–76), City University of New York, Temple University, Kingsborough Community College (1972–75) and the Manhattan School of Music, where she taught for four decades. She served on the board of the League of Composers/International Society for Contemporary Music.

Mamlok had received two National Endowment for the Arts Grants (1974 and 1981), a Fromm Foundation Grant (1994), a Fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation (1995) and commissions from various organizations, including the Koussevitzky Foundation, the Eastman School of Music, the Alaria Chamber Ensemble and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. In 1984, When Summer Sang, a chamber work for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, was chosen to represent the United States at the International Rostrum of Composers. Mamlok also received a Commendation of Excellence in 1987 "for her contribution to the world of concert music."

The C. F. Peters Corporation, American Composers Edition, McGuinness and Marx, Casia Publishing, and Hildegard Publishing companies have published Mamlok's compositions. She made the scores of many of her works available herself. In 2006, Mamlock moved to Berlin, where she died on May 4, 2016. Cantata based on Psalm 1; Songs of Joy and Sorrow