Martha Hilley
Video
Oral History Information
Interview Date
Job Title
Group Piano Educator
Company Name
Wurlitzer
Martha Hilley was a young piano teacher in the 1960s when she had the idea of expanding her ideas of group lessons. She contacted the Wurlitzer Company, well known for their dedication to music education. The company was so impressed by her concepts that they hired her as an educational advisor. She worked closely with the Wurlitzer team to create a program that could be used in several settings, by a variety of skill levels and different products. In the years to follow she held a position as professor of music at the University of Texas in Austin, becoming one of the pioneers of the school’s music department.