Belle Barsky (1903-2001) was born in the Ukraine and immigrated to Pittsburgh with her family as a young child. She and her younger sister Sibyl, who became a sculptor, supported and cared for their four younger brothers after their parents and another sister died in the space of three months in 1926. Belle was educated in the Pittsburgh public schools, transferring to Fifth Avenue high School and graduating a semester early in February, 1922. Belle, a pretty and popular girl, played the piano and played the lead in school plays. Belle later married Dr. Myer W. Rubenstein, had two children, completed her university degree, and taught piano. She was for many years the chair of the Young Men and Women Hebrew Association Y Music Series, which brought young musicians, many of whom later became world famous, to Pittsburgh for solo recitals and chamber music concerts. She was also an active member of the Womens Association of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and she assisted European refugees in rebuilding their musical careers in Pittsburgh. In her later years, Belle taught an opera class for senior citizens and was a popular accompanist. She died in 2001.
From the description of Belle Barsky memory book 1920-1922 [manuscript] (Historical Society of W Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 318451792
