   |
 The extraordinary and inspiring Vienna-born Herbert Zipper survived Dachau and Buchenwald to become one of the great music educators of the world.  Born into a Jewish family in 1904, Herbert Zipper studied music at the Academy for Music and the Performing Arts in Vienna. He was an idealist who believed that “cultivating the artistic and creative sensitivities of the working classes would become a reality.” He saw the arts as the very essence of life. As a student, he spent many evenings performing in worker’s hostels as a member of a trade union orchestra. After graduation, he launched a successful career as a conductor for the Wiener Symphonies and the Wiener Madrigal Chor.
After accepting a position as Kapellmeister in Inglostadt and Düsseldorf, Germany, Herbert Zipper’s life changed dramatically. With the takeover of the Nazis, he witnessed the first book burnings in 1933. He fled Germany leaving everything behind and returned to Vienna. Life for Jews in Austria soon became intolerable and Zipper was seized by the Nazi police and deported to the concentration camp of Dachau, and later to Buchenwald. In Buchenwald he organized a secret orchestra to bolster the spirits of the other prisoners. He was released from Buchenwald in 1939 after his father bribed an official at the Guatemala consulate. With a Guatemalan visa, and 10 marks in his pocket, Herbert Zipper left for Paris. After a brief stay in Paris, Zipper was offered a position as Kapellmeister of the Symphonic Orchestra in Manila. He spent the war years in the Philippines, and was interned again, under the Japanese, during the fall of Manila. 
After the war, Herbert Zipper and his wife, Trudl moved to the United States and became citizens in 1951. It was in the United States that he began a long and remarkable career as a pioneer in music education. Dr. Zipper was the first Executive Director of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts in 1967. He also served as President of the Guild’s Board from 1957 to 1961. In 1985, he created and endowed the Young Composers Awards program at the National Guild which gives generous cash prizes to gifted young composers. Herbert Zipper is often described as the father of the modern community arts school movement. His association with The Colburn School began in the early 1970’s when the School was still a part of the University of Southern California. At that time he created an in-school concert program, bringing a professional orchestra to inner city elementary children. The Zipper Orchestra continues to touch the lives of thousands of youngsters. As The Colburn School evolved into an independent organization, Herbert Zipper served as an inspiration and a guide. He was artistic advisor to The Colburn School until his death in 1997. Herbert Zipper often said, “I want to be a good ancestor!” He has indeed achieved his wish.
|
 ©2009 The Colburn School. All Rights Reserved |