Gladys Pitcher (1890-1996), a pianist, cellist and music educator, was born in Belfast, Maine to music educators Elbridge and Emma Pitcher. Gladys Pitcher graduated from Belfast High School in1907 and went on to study cello and piano at the New England Conservatory of Boston, from which she graduated in 1910. In 1914 she married James T. Sleeper, the Director of the Music Department at Beloit College in Wisconsin, and replaced him temporarily as Director when he left to serve during World War I. Following the War, Pitcher settled in New England and taught music in the public school system. In 1926 she was hired by C.C. Birchard, a music publisher in Boston, where she acted as editor-in-chief until her retirement in 1957. Following her retirement, she continued to write and edit music for the Willis Music Company, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and continued to edit after settling in Belfast, Maine in 1962. Gladys Pitcher died on March 24, 1996 at the age of 105.
From the guide to the Gladys Pitcher Papers, 1854-1976, 1959-1976, (Special Collections in Performing Arts)
