Katwijk, Viola Beck van, 1894-1980

Will Be Entertained by Eleven of Former Pupils

Harold von Mickwitz of Bush Temple of Chicago is visiting Dallas during the holiday season, and is a guest at the Adolphus Hotel. Tomorrow afternoon eleven of his former pupils who reside in Dallas will entertain with a kaffee-klatsch in his honor at the Oriental Hotel from 4 to 5 o'clock in the private dining hall. From 5 to 6 tea and coffee will be served to a number of invited guests. The hostesses will e Misses Bessie H. Brown, Ruby Lawrence, Emma Simkins, Mildred Holloway, Viola Beck, Kathleen Fain, Frances Bettis, Marion Cassell of Fort Worth, and Martha Whitaker, and Mesdames W.H. Allen and Virgie D. Porter.

Name: Viola Van Katwijk
Birth Year: abt 1894
Gender: Female
Race: White
Age in 1930: 36
Birthplace: Texas
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Homemaker?: Yes
Home in 1930: University Park, Dallas, Texas, USA
Map of Home: University Park, Dallas, Texas
Street Address: McFarlin
House Number: 3636
Dwelling Number: 39
Family Number: 41
Age at First Marriage: 28
Attended School: No
Able to Read and Write: Yes
Father's Birthplace: Germany
Mother's Birthplace: Germany
Able to Speak English: Yes
Occupation: Teacher Music
Industry: S. M. N. College
Class of Worker: Wage or salary worker
Employment: Yes
Household Members Age Relationship
Paul Van Katwijk
44 Head
Viola Van Katwijk 36 Wife
Catherine Van Katwijk
67 Mother
Nancy Eaines
42 Servant

The thirtieth biennial Texas State Saengerfest will be held in Dallas, May 11 to 14.
...
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra: Conductor, Max Zach.
...
"Wanderer Phantasie" (Schubert-Liszt) for piano and orchestra: Miss Viola Beck.

Viola Edna Beck Van Katwijk (26 February 1894 – 25 December 1980)[1] was an American composer[2] and pianist.[3] Her music was published under the names "Viola Beck" and "Viola Van Katwijk."[4]

Van Katwijk was born in Denison, Texas, to German immigrants Mina Frank and Max Oswald Beck. She and her sister Irma studied piano in Berlin with Richard Burmeister.[1] Van Katwijk also studied piano and composition with Percy Grainger.[5]

Van Katwijk made her debut as a solo pianist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1914.[1] With her brother Curt, a violinist, she toured as part of the Beck-Allen Trio until her marriage to Paul van Katwijk on July 15, 1922. She joined the piano faculty at Southern Methodist University, where Paul was the dean of the School of Music, and taught there from 1922 until her retirement in 1955. She and her husband also toured as duo pianists.[6]

Van Katwijk composed piano and vocal music. She won the national Mu Phi Epsilon composition contest in 1920 and 1930.[1] She also won two first prizes [7] and one second prize in the San Antonio Club piano composition contest.[8] She was a charter member of the Dallas Music Teachers Association and of the Mu Chi Chapter of the Mu Phi Epsilon music fraternity.[1]

The Paul and Viola van Katwijk Collection is archived at Southern Methodist University. It includes over 100 letters and manuscripts from well-known composers such as Debussy, Mahler, Rachmaninoff and Rossini.[9] Three manuscripts of Van Katwijk's compositions are archived at the Texas Woman's University Library in Denton, Texas.[10]

Van Katwijk's compositions include:

Piano
Dusk on a Texas Prairie[7]
Gamelan[7]
Jester[7]
Vocal
"My Terrace"[11]
"Winter Valley"[7]

VAN KATWIJK, VIOLA EDNA BECK (1894–1980).Viola Beck van Katwijk, pianist, composer, and educator, was born on February 26, 1894, in Denison, Texas, to Max Oswald Beck and Mina (Frank) Beck. Her parents had immigrated to Texas from Saxony in Germany. In 1911 the family moved to Dallas, where Viola soon began teaching piano lessons. She and her sister, Irma, studied piano in Berlin with Richard Burmeister, a former pupil of Franz Liszt. Viola also studied piano and composition with Percy Grainger.

At age twenty, Viola Beck made her solo debut as a pianist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. She and her brother, Curt (a violinist), toured as two-thirds of “The Beck-Allen Trio” for several years prior to her marriage. In 1920 she won the national Mu Phi Epsilon composition contest; she repeated as national winner in 1930. By 1921, as she took part in performances in musical recitals in the Dallas area, the functions included other composers, including pianist Paul van Katwijk, dean of the school of music at Southern Methodist University. They married on July 15, 1922. That same year she joined the piano faculty at Southern Methodist University and served as a professor of music until she retired in 1955.

Viola van Katwijk was an accomplished composer whose works included “Dusk on a Texas Prairie,” “The Jester,” and “Gamelan.” She and her husband often toured as a duo-piano team. She was a charter member of the Dallas Music Teachers Association as well as a charter member of the Mu Chi Chapter of the Mu Phi Epsilon music fraternity.

At the age of eighty-six, Viola Beck van Katwijk died of cancer at Treemont Healthcare Center in Dallas on December 25, 1980. Her husband preceded her in death. The van Katwijks had no children. She was buried in Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas.