Martha Anne Stieber, of New York City, and a native of Washington, D.C., passed away on May 14, 2020. She was the beloved daughter of the late Sol and Esther Scherling Stieber and loving sister of Jane Stieber.
After graduating from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, she received her bachelor of music degree from the Boston University School for the Arts. She also did graduate work at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, and studied music privately in Boston, Washington, New York City and Buenos Aires, Argentina. After college, she taught music in Prince George’s County, and was a music/recreational therapist at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in the District. During this time, Martha became active in area theaters including performing with the Montgomery County Light Opera Association, the Maryland Cabaret Theatre and the Little Theater of Alexandria. Martha’s acting and musical interests brought her to Goshen, N.Y., for summer stock, performing musical comedy lead roles such as Maria in “West Side Story” and Luisa in “The Fantasticks.”
Moving to New York City, she founded the Gramercy Park School of Music where she was a teacher of piano, voice and Spanish for over 40 years. She performed classical solo recitals and comprimario roles in operas and oratorios in the United States and Argentina, and cabaret at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. While living in Buenos Aires for two years, she was the English editor of the Latin American Orthopedic Journal. Contributions may be made to the Boston Symphony’s Tanglewood Music Festival (tanglewood.org/contribute) or the Jewish National Fund (jnf.org).
