Helen Plinkiewisch (left) and Lillian Jeffreys Petri, ca. 1930. Lillian Petri, Professor of Piano and Music Theory, was Plinkiewsich's teacher and mentor at Oregon State College. The two remained close friends until Lillian Petri's death in 1955. [OSU Archives - Plinkiewisch Papers]
Plinkiewisch, Helen Edwina, 1908-1994
2.75 cubic feet
The papers are organized into eleven series, most of which document the education and music teaching career and related activities of music educator Helen E. Plinkiewisch.
Series 1 contains personal information about Plinkiewisch, including vitae, articles, and a biographical sketch. Series 2, Diaries & Journals, includes a diary of her stay in Europe in 1929-1930. Series 3 contains correspondence between Plinkiewisch and her mother, Paul and Lillian Petri, and Oregon State College classmates. Series 4 contains materials from Plinkiewisch's education, including music textbooks from OSC and research materials and drafts of her Columbia University doctoral dissertation on the music of Charles Ives, Roy Harris and Aaron Copland. The dissertation materials include critiques of her project by various music educators and composers, including Copland.
Series 5, Teaching Records, primarily documents Plinkiewisch's efforts to incorporate opera into the grade school music curriculum. It contains programs and other publicity materials of the student operas put on by her students, as well as records from the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc., Education Department pertaining to students and opera. Series 6 contains several of Plinkiewisch's musical compositions. Several were published, including the "Song of the Train," and the piano accompaniment she wrote for a book of children's songs, A Merry Go Round of Songs (1946). Series 7 contains programs and announcements of student dances, balls, and awards ceremonies at OSC, and musical performances by Plinkiewisch, the Petris, and others. Series 8 documents musical and other organizations that Plinkiewisch was affiliated with. Series 9 includes diplomas, honors and awards given to her. Series 10 is a sketch book created by Plinkiewisch's mother Amy R. Hansen Plinkiewisch.
Series 10 is comprised of photographs. These include portraits and candid images of Plinkiewisch and her parents; a photo and postcard album containing images of Plinkiewisch's 1929/1930 trip to Europe, her friends, and Oregon scenes; photographs of Paul and Lillian Petri and their Corvallis home, "Casa Musica"; photos and slides of Stewart school student operas; and slide sets of Metropolitan Opera Guild performances.
Helen Edwina Plinkiewisch, a 1929 graduate of Oregon State Agricultural College, had a long and successful career as a music educator in the public schools of Garden City (Long Island), New York.
She was born in 1908 in Portland, Oregon, and attended public schools in that city. After graduating from Jefferson High School in 1925, Plinkiewisch attended Oregon State Agricultural College, and received a diploma in music and theory in 1929. While at Oregon State, she was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority; was president of Euterpe, the women's music honorary society; was a member of Phi Kappa Phi honor society; and was the accompanist for the Madrigal Club. After studying piano in Vienna and Rome for a year, she earned a B.S. in Music Education in 1931 from New York University and an M.S. in Education from Columbia University in 1934. In 1955, Plinkiewisch earned a Doctorate in Education (Music Education major) from Columbia.
In 1935, she began teaching music at the Stewart School in Garden City, New York; she taught there until her retirement in 1974. At Stewart School, Plinkiewisch began to introduce her students to opera. She had them design and perform an abbreviated version of an opera to be performed by the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Plinkiewisch received many accolades for her work in introducing opera to children.
She also taught part time at New Paltz State University (1953); Hofstra University (1953-1970); and Adelphi University (1972). Plinkiewisch wrote a number of musical compositions, a number of which were published, and wrote articles for several music magazines and journals. She served as an advisory member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild's Education Committee, and was a board member of several local music organizations. Helen Plinkiewisch died in 1994.
The papers came to OSU as part of a gift from Plinkiewisch's estate to fund scholarships in the Music and Art Departments. The College of Liberal Arts transferred the collection to the University Archives.
A photograph of Plinkiewisch is located in Harriet's Collection, #585. Additional information about the Petris and the Music Department can be found in the Music Department Records (RG 148).
A painting of Plinkiewisch is located at the OSU Music Department.