Pech was a committed educator and performer in California and beyond
The US violinist and violist Kay Pech died on 5 October 2024, following complications from liver cancer and a series of strokes in August this year. She was 84.
Serving the Californian musical scene for her life and career, Pech was born in Los Angeles on 27 June 1940 and began playing the violin aged four. She received a Bachelor of Music Education in violin performance from Morningside College under the tutelage of Leo Kucinski, followed by a Master of Arts in viola performance from the University of Iowa, studying under William Preucil. Additionally, she pursued graduate studies in violin performance with Eudice Shaprio at the University of Southern California.
Pech was known for commitment to music education and began teaching while still in her teens. In her teaching career spanning over 70 years, Pech taught chamber music for 21 years at Saddleback College, ten years for the ASTA Summer Institute of Chamber Music and eight years for California State Polytechnic University, Pomona chamber music ensembles, where she retired as the university’s chamber players in 2005.
She served as a member of the California branch of the American String Teachers Association (CalASTA-LA), where other members remembered her fondly.
’She went above and beyond what was expected and did the most excellent job possible,’ said past-president and treasurer of CalASTA-LA, Wendy Velasco.
’It was Kay Pech who started our Annual Awards project, our Chamber Music Festival and our local ASTACAP exams. Many years ago she served as treasurer, took a break, then served again most recently from 2016-2024.’
Pech was the founder/director of the Chamber Music Institute of Southern California. Since its inception in 1997, the summer course offered an intensive two weeks of rehearsals and performances for quartets formed from local students.
As a performer, Pech played as principal violist of the Disneyland Orchestra for 43 years, and additionally served as principal violist of the Downey Symphony and assistant principal violist of the Pacific Symphony. She also performed as a violinist and violist with the Long Beach Symphony, San Gabriel Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, Oklahoma City Symphony, Sioux City Symphony in Iowa and was the concertmaster of the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra in Texas.
Pech also authored the paper Women and the Violin - a history of women violinists before 1950, music written by women for the violin to the present and societal attitudes toward women violinists. She originally wrote it for a college class in 1994 and continued to update the paper with further research.
Read: Postcard from Orlando: ASTA 2023 national conference
Read: Violinist Randall Goosby takes up artist residency with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
The number one source for playing and teaching books, guides, CDs, calendars and back issues of the magazine.
In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers. It’s packed full of exercises for students, plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing.
The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written. Always one of our most popular sections, Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s.
The Canada Council of the Arts’ Musical Instrument Bank is 40 years old in 2025. This year’s calendar celebrates some its treasures, including four instruments by Antonio Stradivari and priceless works by Montagnana, Gagliano, Pressenda and David Tecchler.
No comments yet