Augustine, Rose (1910–2003)

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Augustine, Rose (1910–2003)

American guitar-string maker. Born Rose Lipschitz (later changed by family to Lewis), Feb 10, 1910, in New York, NY; grew up in the Bronx; died April 21, 2003, in New York, NY; attended Hunter College; Columbia University, MA; m. Albert Augustine (Danish-born luthier) 1928 (died 1967).

Began career as a chemistry teacher; founded the journal Guitar Review (1946) and was publisher and editor; with husband, developed nylon strings to replace animal gut strings for guitar, and founded guitar string-making company, Augustine Strings, Ltd. (1947), becoming president (1967); was a close friend of Andrés Segovia; underwrote concerts, and commissioned guitar works from composers (beginning 1980); chief sponsor of Augustine Foundation Concert Series, was named "The Matriarch of the Guitar." Received numerous honors, including Guitar Foundation of America's Lifetime Achievement Award (2002), Vahdah Olcott Bickford Award, and honorary degree from Manhattan School of Music.

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