Norma Marder (nee Rajeck) (1934-2023) was born on June 8, 1934 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The daughter of Max Rajeck and Gertrude Oppenheim Mintz, she received her bachelors degree in opera performance from Brandeis University in 1956. She married Herbert Marder on November 4, 1956. The couple went to Rome in 1959, where she began studying with an opera coach and Italian diction. Following this, she studied at the Manhattan School of Music, graduating in 1959.
She followed this with performances at the Judson Dance Workshop, the New School, and the Living Theater alongside artists like Allison Knowles, La Monte Young, and Yoko Ono. While in New York, she performed works by Charles Ives and worked with both John Cage and Malcolm Goldstein. The couple had two sons in New York, Michael (b. 1960) and Yuri (b. 1963). After Herbert accepted a position as an English Professor at the University of Illinois, Norma became a private voice teacher. She also served as a music director at the Depot Theater from 1968-1976.
In 1970, the Marders founded the New Verbal Workshop in their home on West Church Street in Champaign. The ensemble explored improvisatory "speechmusic," performing original compositions as well as works by Kenneth Gaburo, Ben Johnston, Herbert Brün, and other experimental composers. The group consisted of Norma and Herbert Marder, Joan Korb, Fred Simon, and Janet Gilbert. The group continued to perform until 1980.
From 1975 to 1978, Norma taught courses at Parkland College. Also in 1975, she became the head of the voice department at the National Academy of the Arts. In the mid 1980s, Marder shifted her focus to freelance writing. After working as an editor at the University of Illinois from 1990 to 1992. She published her first fiction novel An Eye for Dark Places in 1992.
Sources:Norma Marder Memorial Website, at norma-marder.vercel.app.
Norma Marder, encyclopedia.com.
New Verbal Workshop, Krannert Art Museum Exhibit, https://kam.illinois.edu/new-verbal-workshop.
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