Marsh, Audrey, 1911-

Audrey Marsh was born in New York City on March 18, 1911 (her birth name is Audrey Lois Zellman). Her father, Joseph B. Zellman had come to America from Russia in the 1880s. A bass-baritone, Joseph sang at the Czar’s last court and left Russia because of political (Anarchist) and religious (Jewish) affiliations. He also played violin and was able to travel to the United States with 2nd class accommodations after being awarded a scholarship from a music conservatory. After school, he settled in New York City and had a busy career as a singer and recitalist at churches, temples and concert halls such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Carnegie Hall. He later opened his own music school, Zellman Conservatory of Music, on Lenox Avenue and 126th Street.

Audrey’s mother, Rose Kornicker, was a concert pianist who became Joseph Zellman’s accompanist. Born in Philadelphia in a German Jewish family, Rose concertized and taught piano at an early age. She continued to teach throughout Audrey’s childhood. Joseph Zellman and Rose Kornicker recorded an extensive repertoire of voice and piano duets on the early Thomas Edison cylinders.

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