Eileen Youngdahl Gunberg

Gunberg, Eileen Youngdahl Born in Minneapolis, MN to Dr. Carl R. Youngdahl and Hilma Croonquist Youngdahl and grew up in Sioux Falls, SD, where her father was Head of the Music Department of Augustana College. A talented violinist, at the age of 14 she performed the Viotti Violin Concerto as a soloist accompanied by the Augustana Town and Gown Symphony Orchestra (now called the South Dakota Symphony). At 18 she became Concertmaster. As a student at Augustana College she received two scholarships for summer programs at the University of Michigan, where she played in the Symphony Orchestra and studied under Professor Wassili Besekersky. After graduating from Augustana, she received a scholarship from the University of Iowa as a candidate for a Masters Degree in Music. While in Iowa City she met her future husband, Edwin Gunberg, who was also a graduate student at the University of Iowa. She and her husband lived in Sioux Falls, where Dr. Gunberg was a professor of Humanities at Augustana College. For the next 13 years she played with the Augustana Symphony Orchestra, performed frequently as a member of a professional string quartet, and taught violin. When her husband became an Intelligence Officer with the CIA, they moved with three young children to Bethesda, Maryland, and she continued her career as a musician. She taught music for one year at Potomac School in Langley, Virginia, eight years at Sidwell-Friends School in Bethesda, Maryland, and seven years at Primary Day School, also in Bethesda. During these years she completed a graduate level program at The American University in creative music for elementary students using the techniques of Orff and Kodaly. At Sidwell-Friends School she introduced the Suzuki method of teaching violin to very young children. Mrs. Gunberg was an active member of Christ Lutheran Church. She served on numerous committees, represented the congregation as a delegate to the Eastern District of the Lutheran Church in America, and was Choir Director for many years. She has also been an active member of the Women's Club of Bethesda since 1953. She is survived by two daughters, Carol Ferrell and Kristi Gilchrist; and one son, Edwin W. Gunberg, Jr.; and five grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at Christ Lutheran Church in Bethesda, MD on Saturday, July 19th at 1:00 PM. Contributions in her memory should be sent to the Loudoun Symphony, PO Box 4478, Leesburg, VA 20177.
This obituary was originally published in the Star Tribune.