Rood, Louise, 1910-1964

Louise Miles Rood was born in 1910 to James and Myrtle Merrill Rood in Easton, Pennsylvania. She obtained her bachelor degree in 1929 from the University of Wisconsin. Around 1934, Rood taught for three years at Sweet Briar College on a Julliard Extension Fellowship. In 1937 Rood was hired as an instructor of music at Smith. While teaching full time, she completed her master degree in 1942 at Smith College. In 1945, she received a diploma from the Julliard Graduate School of Music.

Rood taught a wide range of musical subjects, from theory to practical, focusing on the violin and the viola. She performed as a soloist with Smith groups and elsewhere around New England and the Midwest. Rood also wrote the book Introduction to the Orchestra Score. During many summers, Rood taught sessions at the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan, and Mary Washington College. In 1958, she became a professor at Smith.

Rood died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage on February 7, 1964. Following her death, the annual Louise Rood Memorial Concert was established in her honor.

From the guide to the Louise Rood Papers RG 42., 1937-1983, (Smith College Archives)