Rosalie Sue Calabrese

1938 - 2019
On the evening of April 19th, 2019, Rosalie Sue Calabrese of New York City passed away at the age of 81.



Daughter of Julius and Florence Hochman, Rosalie was born in 1938 in Queens, NY. She received her Bachelor in Journalism, City College of New York, in 1959. She married Anthony Calabrese in 1960 and their son, Christopher Calabrese was born in 1966. Rosalie and Tony later divorced, and Rosalie raised Chris as a single mother in Manhattan.



Rosalie Calabrese worked as a management consultant for the arts. For over thirty years she served as Executive Director for the American Composers Alliance, representing three hundred composers of concert music, a roster including Francis Thorne and Richard Danielpour. She then moved on to running her own business and her private clients have included the pianist Margaret Mills, photographer Margaret McCarthy, singer-songwriter Peggy Seeger, and the composers Arthur Berger and Irving Fine, among others.



Later in life, she became passionate about poetry and her publication credits include Cosmopolitan, Poetry New Zealand, Poetica, Jewish Currents, Mom Egg Review, and The New York Times. She has also published six books of her own poetry including one in honor of her son who passed away in 2007, entitled Remembering Chris. Always prolific, she has a seventh poetry book forthcoming.



Rosalie was sharp, witty, strong-willed, open-minded, but firm in her opinions. She was a magnet for friendship, and had a magic touch at connecting with people and retaining them as life-long friends through her loyalty, genuine interest in others and her willingness to participate in anything that came her way. She was devoted to her career, her poetry and her friends and had boundless energy, participating in events almost daily. As an arts consultant, she provided love and support to those who chose an often thankless career. She was connected to countless composers and musicians and everyone in the classical music world knew her. Her later years were fraught with health issues, but this did not slow her down until her most recent battle with pancreatic cancer. Less than two years ago, she was featured in an article in O, the Oprah Magazine, spotlighting the positive impact that the foundation GlamourGals has made in connecting youth with the elderly. Rosalie was dressed up in a beautiful gown and posed for a photo included in the article. During the shoot she was full of joy and said she felt "like a princess". GlamourGals presented Rosalie with the Inspiration Glammy Award in 2018, which honors an influential individual who's made a positive impact in their community.



Rosalie is preceded in death by her mother Florence, father Julius, brother Andrew and her son Christopher. She is survived by granddaughter Katharine Calabrese; daughter-in-law Pam Calabrese; sister-in-law Barbara Rosuck; nephew Jonathan Hochman; and niece Jessica Hochman Corcoran.



Memorial Service will be on Monday, April 29th at 3:00 pm at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel, 630 Amsterdam Avenue at 92nd Street, New York City. Donations in Rosalie's honor accepted at Poets House (poetshouse.org).