Roberta Guaspari (born September 15, 1947) is an American violinist and music educator. She is known for her work in Harlem, New York, where she taught during the 1980s and 1990s to keep music alive in inner-city schools. She was portrayed on film by Meryl Streep in Music of the Heart (1999), written by Pamela Gray for which Streep was nominated for an Academy Award as Guaspari. Guaspari was also the subject of the 1995 documentary Small Wonders. As of 2017, she is still an instructor of violin with Opus 118 in New York City.[1]
Roberta Guaspari
Born
(1947-09-15) September 15, 1947 (age 76) Rome, New York, U.S.
Occupations
Music Teacher
Life and careeredit
Guaspari was born in Rome, New York, the daughter of Assunta "Sue" (née Vitali 1923–2013) and Guido "Guy" Guaspari (1917-1974). She has a sister, Lois, and two brothers, Alfred and Douglas. Her grandparents on both sides were from Italy.[2] She graduated with a B.A. in music education from the State University of New York at Fredonia and a master's degree in music education from the Boston University College of Fine Arts.[3][4]
She is divorced from her husband, George Tzavaras, with whom she had two sons, Nicholas[5] and Alexi. She later adopted a daughter from El Salvador named Sophia.[6]
She co-founded Opus 118, a school of music that provides music instruction and teacher development.[7]
Select awards
The Petra Foundation's annual award in 1992 to “recognize and encourage unsung individuals who are making distinctive contributions to human freedom.” [8]
Outstanding Achievement Award by SUNY Fredonia Alumni Association in 1994.[11]
Arison Award in 2003 presented by NFAA National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts for her “significant influence in the development of young American artists.”[12]
roberta, guaspari, born, september, 1947, american, violinist, music, educator, known, work, harlem, york, where, taught, during, 1980s, 1990s, keep, music, alive, inner, city, schools, portrayed, film, meryl, streep, music, heart, 1999, written, pamela, gray,. Roberta Guaspari born September 15 1947 is an American violinist and music educator She is known for her work in Harlem New York where she taught during the 1980s and 1990s to keep music alive in inner city schools She was portrayed on film by Meryl Streep in Music of the Heart 1999 written by Pamela Gray for which Streep was nominated for an Academy Award as Guaspari Guaspari was also the subject of the 1995 documentary Small Wonders As of 2017 she is still an instructor of violin with Opus 118 in New York City 1 Roberta GuaspariBorn 1947 09 15 September 15 1947 age 76 Rome New York U S OccupationsMusic TeacherLife and career editGuaspari was born in Rome New York the daughter of Assunta Sue nee Vitali 1923 2013 and Guido Guy Guaspari 1917 1974 She has a sister Lois and two brothers Alfred and Douglas Her grandparents on both sides were from Italy 2 She graduated with a B A in music education from the State University of New York at Fredonia and a master s degree in music education from the Boston University College of Fine Arts 3 4 She is divorced from her husband George Tzavaras with whom she had two sons Nicholas 5 and Alexi She later adopted a daughter from El Salvador named Sophia 6 She co founded Opus 118 a school of music that provides music instruction and teacher development 7 Select awards The Petra Foundation s annual award in 1992 to recognize and encourage unsung individuals who are making distinctive contributions to human freedom 8 Woman of the Year in 1994 by CBS This Morning 9 Heroes for Today Award by Reader s Digest 10 Outstanding Achievement Award by SUNY Fredonia Alumni Association in 1994 11 Arison Award in 2003 presented by NFAA National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts for her significant influence in the development of young American artists 12 American Eagle Awards in 2000 from the National Music Council of the United States 13 Barnard College Medal of Distinction 2011 14 References edit Simply Streep The Meryl Streep Archives Roberta Guaspari Simplystreep com assunta guispari obituary accessed 3 20 2015 Roberta Guaspari 69 unveils new scholarship Ww2 fredonia edu Biography accessed 3 20 2015 Kathryn Shattuck 1 January 2006 Sophia Anastasia and Nicholas Tzavaras New York Times Retrieved 10 May 2015 Biography in People Magazine accessed 3 20 2015 Opus 118 Harlem Center for Strings Opus118 org The Petra Foundation Building a Leadership Network Since 1988 Petrafoundation org Woman of the Year in 1994 by CBS This Morning CBS News Heroes for Today Award by Reader s Digest 1994 Outstanding Achievement Award by SUNY Fredonia Alumni Association Alumni fredonia edu Archived from the original on 2011 02 14 Arison Award in 2003 by NFAA youngarts org American Eagle Awards Musiccouncil org Facebook Executive Sheryl Sandberg to Address Barnard College Graduates Barnard College Barnard edu External links editOpus 118 Meryl Streep and the Movie about Roberta National Museum of Education 2000 Keynote Speaker Roberta Guaspari Teacher Hero Roberta Guaspar June 2007 When Teaching the Arts Becomes Social Work The New York Times October 6 1996 Fiddling to a Better Life The New York Times October 4 1996 The Maestro Of East Harlem The Time Magazine July 12 1999 Roberta Guaspari Petra Fellows 1992 nbsp nbsp nbsp This United States musical biography article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Roberta Guaspari amp oldid 1151287180, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
