Louise Myers Spizizen

1928 - 2010
Louise Myers Spizizen, a musician, composer, critic, administrator and teacher, died on July 2, 2010 in Tucson, AZ from complications of Alzheimer's disease. She was 81.

Mrs. Spizizen was born on August 24, 1928 in Lynn, MA, the daughter of Louis Samuel and Lillian Gordon Myers. She grew up in Kansas City, MO, and attended Vassar College, where she received an A.B. in Music Composition in 1949. In 1972 she earned a Master's in Baroque Performance Practice at University of California, San Diego.

She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, Richard Gordon Myers, and her husband of 42 years, Dr. John Spizizen, who died in May 2010. Her first marriage to the late Eugene Richard Schlesinger in 1948 ended in divorce.

She is survived by four children from her first marriage: Louis Schlesinger of Spruce Pine, NC; Thomas Schlesinger of El Cajon, CA; Kenneth Schlesinger of New York, NY; Kathryn Schlesinger of St. Thomas, USVI; and a stepson, Gary Spizizen of Tucson, AZ. She is also survived by nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

An accomplished classical musician, Mrs. Spizizen also had broad, populist musical tastes. She believed music should be freely accessible and enjoyed by a wide audience. The purpose of her music criticism was to educate audiences to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of what they were hearing.

With this in mind, she founded San Diego and Arizona [Tucson] Mini-Concerts, free lunchtime performances in the civic centers and malls of these cities. She served as Co-Founder of the Basically Baroque Symposium at UC San Diego. She is also a founder and former President of Arizona Early Music Society.

Mrs. Spizizen had a long history with China, having visited it four times. In 1985 she accompanied John Spizizen on a ten-week residency to Beijing and Shanghai, sponsored by the China Ministry of Arts Education. She introduced the harpsichord to China at music conservatories in both cities through performances and master classes.

She contributed music criticism to the La Jolla Light, Los Angeles Times, San Diego Reader, and Tucson Weekly, among other publications. She performed with the Arizona Opera, the San Diego and Tucson Symphonies, as well as numerous chamber ensembles. In Tucson, she composed the scores for six productions at the Invisible Theatre.

For the last decade of her professional life, she worked on a biography of pianist Johana Harris, wife of American composer Roy Harris. She was unable to complete the manuscript due to illness.

A memorial service is planned for Fall 2010 in Tucson. The family requests contributions be made to Peppi's Place Hospice at Tucson Medical Center or to the Arizona Early Music Society.