Jane Galante

Jane Hohfeld Galante Feb. 14, 1924 - Dec. 1, 2010 Jane Hohfeld Galante, a leading chamber musician and prominent San Franciscan, died at her home in San Francisco on Wednesday morning. Daughter of Bay Area parents, Edward Hohfeld and Lillian Devendorf and the granddaughter of California pioneers; her maternal grandfather, Frank Devendorf was the co-founder of the town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. She was a major presence in chamber music in San Francisco for over sixty years as a pianist, teacher, scholar, board member and vigorous advocate of the arts up until her death. She attended the Katherine Branson School, Ojai Valley School and Vassar College; she obtained her masters in musicology at UC Berkley where she lived at the International House. She taught at Mills College where she was a protg of Darius Milhaud. In 1988 she published the translation from the French of Darius Milhaud by Paul Coaller for which she was decorated with the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Artes et des Letters, by the government of France. Jane had a 40 year career as a performing chamber music pianist. She toured with Ferenc Molnar and renowned cellist Zara Nelsova, and played with Lazlo Varga and Anne Adams harpist of the SF symphony. She was a founder of the San Francisco Composers forum in 1946, a former board member of San Francisco Performances and the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music, an Honorary Trustee of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and an Honorary member of the University of California Berkley Library Committee, to all of which roles she brought her passionate determination and incisive mind. She also formed the Lyra Ensemble which for seven years gave concerts in Bay Area public schools. She was a founding trustee and driving force behind the Morrison Chamber Music Center at SF State University for 54 years. Jane was a lifetime member of the Sierra Club and enjoyed over six decades of hiking in her beloved Sierras. She was an avid horsewoman and an accomplished California historian. Jane Galante is survived by her husband of 54 years, Clement Galante, a native of Rhodes, Greece, her two sons, Edward and John, daughters-in-law Mara and Dawn, and her seven grandchildren, Nicole, John, Alyssa, Evan, Rachael, Alexander and Isabella. A Memorial Service and Celebration of the Life of Jane Galante will be held on Saturday, December 11th at 2:30PM in Knuth Hall, College of Creative Arts at San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue. In lieu of flowers please honor Jane's memory with donations to the The University Corporation, SF State. Indicate Morrison Chamber Music Center in Memory of Jane Galante. Mail to Carma Zisman, College of Creative Arts, SF State, 1600 Holloway Ave, SF 94132-4028.