Dika Newlin

Dika Newlin (November 22, 1923—July 22, 2006) was a pianist, professor, composer and punk rock singer. She received a Phd from Columbia University at the age of 22. She was one of the last living students of Arnold Schoenberg, a Schoenberg Scholar and a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond from 1978-2004. She performed as an Elvis impersonator and played punk rock while in her 70's in Richmond, Virginia. November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Columbia University is a private university whose main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. ... Arnold Schoenberg, Los Angeles, 1938 Schoenberg redirects here. ... VCU logo Virginia Commonwealth University, or VCU, is a large public American research university with its main campuses located in downtown Richmond, Virginia. ... Elvis Impersonators An Elvis impersonator is someone who impersonates or copies Elvis Presley either as a hobby, career in entertainment or occasionally for fun. ... Flag Seal Nickname: River City Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra Location Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia Coordinates , Government Country State County United States Virginia Independent City Mayor L. Douglas Wilder (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 62. ...

She was featured in the documentary Dika: Murder City.

Early life

Dika Newlin was born in Portland, Oregon. Her name was chosen by her mother and refers to an Amazon in one of Sappho's poems. Flag Seal Nickname: City of Roses, Stumptown, Bridgetown Location Location in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Coordinates , Government Country State County United States Oregon Multnomah County Mayor Tom Potter Geographical characteristics Area     City 145. ... Ancient Greek bust of Sappho the Eresian. ...

Newlin was able to read the dictionary by age 3. She could play the piano by age 6 and began composing music at age 7. When she was 11 she wrote a symphonic piece, Cradle Song, that was performed three years later by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Cincinnati Music Hall As the fifth-oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall, recordings, and international tours. ...

She entered elementary school at age 5 and finished it at age 8. She graduated from high school when she was 12 and was admitted to the freshman class at Michigan State University, where her parents taught. Primary or elementary education is the first years of formal, structured education that occurs during childhood. ... Michigan State University (MSU) is a public university in East Lansing, Michigan. ...

After graduating from Michigan State, she and her mother moved to Los Angeles so that she could study with Schoenberg at the University of California at Los Angeles. Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... The University of California, Los Angeles, popularly known as UCLA, is a public, coeducational university situated in the neighborhood of Westwood within the city of Los Angeles. ...

Newlin kept a diary of her studies with Schoenberg, whom she called "Uncle Arnold." She published the diary in 1980 as Schoenberg Remembered: Diaries and Recollections (1938-76). 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

One entry in the diary relates how Schoenberg criticized her string quartet style as "too pianistic." After she acknowledged that she knew it wasn't the best writing, Schoenberg replied: "No, it is not the best, nor even the second best — perhaps the 50th best, yes?"

Newlin later wrote an article on Schoenberg for the Encyclopedia Britannica. 1913 advertisement for the 11th edition, with the slogan When in doubt — look it up in the Encyclopædia Britannica The Encyclopædia Britannica (properly spelled with æ, the ae-ligature) was first published in 1768–1771 as The Britannica was an important early English-language general encyclopedia and is still...

Academic and musical career

Newlin, among the last surviving students of Schoenberg, was "one of the pioneers of Schoenberg research in America," according to Dr. Sabine Feisst, a professor of musicology at Arizona State University. Newlin's doctoral dissertation was published in 1947 as the book Bruckner, Mahler, Schoenberg. Arizona State University (ASU) is a public institution of higher education and research with several campuses located in the Phoenix metropolitan area. ...

Newlin's compositions include three operas, a piano concerto, a chamber symphony, and numerous chamber, vocal and mixed-media works.

Newlin also translated many of Schoenberg's works from German to English. Newlin herself sang in a costumed performance of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, which she had translated to English, in Lubbock, Texas in 1999. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Pierrot Lunaire (Moonstruck Pierrot or Pierrot in the moonlight) is an important work of Arnold Schoenberg, a setting of Albert Girauds work of French poems of the same name (translated into German by Erich Otto von Hartleben) to music. ... Flag Seal Nickname: Hub City Location Location within the state of Texas Coordinates , Government County Lubbock County Geographical characteristics Area     City 297. ...

Punk rocker

In her 70s a new persona emerged from Newlin: a leather-clad punk rocker with bright orange hair.

As a punk rocker, Newlin appeared in horror movies by Richmond producer Michael D. Moore. In director Tim Ritter's 1995 film Creep, Newlin played a person wearing a leather motorcycle jacket who puts poison in baby food at a supermarket. That same year, Moore directed the documentary about Newlin titled Dika: Murder City. Flag Seal Nickname: River City Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra Location Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia Coordinates , Government Country State County United States Virginia Independent City Mayor L. Douglas Wilder (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 62. ... This is a list of film-related events in 1995. ...

Miscellaneous

In 1939 the New York Herald Tribune wrote that Dika Newlin had the highest I.Q. score of any Michigan State University student at that time. The New York Herald Tribune was a newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald. ... IQ redirects here. ...

Newlin posed for a pinup calendar when she was in her 70s.

Reporters who interviewed her at home noted that a medieval suit of armor was suspended over her mattress on the floor of her bedroom.

Newlin died in Richmond, Virginia from complications of a broken arm she suffered in an accident on June 30, 2006. June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ...

References

• Martin, Douglas. (2006, July 28). Dika Newlin, 82, Punk-Rock Schoenberg Expert, Dies. The New York Times, p. C11

External links

• NPR Story on her death. Features her song "Murder Kitty" based on "Murder City". (Note: All Things Considered broadcasted a correction on July 3, 2006 stating that the song was Cat Duet by Gioacchino Rossini.)
• Murder City on IMDB.com