DeRonde, Marion, 1902-1985

Marion DeRonde was born in Teaneck, New Jersey in 1902. As a student, DeRonde participated in many social clubs on campus including: Freshman Baseball Team, Phi Kappa Psi, Clef Club, Glee Club, Mandolin Club, Orchestra, and Choir. She was also a Junior Usher, a member of the House of Representatives, and served on Senior Dramatics Musical and the Ivy Song committees.

After graduating from Smith in 1923, DeRonde went to New York to study with Cornelius Van Vliet and Emmanuel Feuermann. She later travelled to Vienna, Austria to study with Joachim Stutschewsky before returning to teach music at the Englewood Conservatory of Music in New Jersey. She later worked at the Highland Manor Conservatory and the School for the Advancement of Musical Art before joining Smith College's Department of Music in 1928.

DeRonde taught cello, chamber music, and orchestral conducting; she also played in many chamber and solo groups locally such as with the Springfield Symphony and the Smith College Quartet and also globally. She served as conductor of the Smith College Symphony Orchestra from 1949 until 1965. During her tenure she merged the group with area groups and forged the Smith Amherst Orchestra.

After retiring in 1966, she moved to Sarasota, Florida. She continued to play the cello with the Florida West Coast Symphony and with the St. Petersburg/Tampa Symphony. She also volunteered with several organizations in the Sarasota area including: the Sarasota Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club, the Save Our Bays Association, and the Environmental Defense Fund. She died in 1985, at the age of 83.

From the guide to the Marion DeRonde papers 42., 1902 - 1985, 1922 - 1985, (Smith College Archives)