Katja Georgieff, PhD, professor emerita of music, passed away on March 23, 2021. Katja served as director of Maryville’s Music Program for more than three decades. She is survived by her sons Michael and Nicholas, and their wives and children. Katja was a beloved teacher, mentor, and friend to countless members of the Maryville and Saint Louis Community, a brilliant pianist, and a strong advocate for classical music.
Born in Belgrade (then in Yugoslavia) to Russian parents, Katja was raised in Vinkovci, a city in eastern Croatia.1 Owing to political unrest, her father, a doctor, moved the family to Vienna, Austria, where Katja met her husband Stephen and developed her love for art music (especially classical chamber music).
Because of his skill as an engineer, Stephen and Katja gained the opportunity to immigrate to the United States; around 1950, they traveled here on a Liberty Ship departing from Hanover, Germany. Katja has said that, when they landed, they only had a “quarter to their name.” Katja and Stephen truly lived the American Dream—by the end of his career, Stephen, who passed away in 1992, had pursued a varied career during which he became President of two companies based in Ferguson, Missouri: Ferguson Machine and Universal Match Corporation.
After they arrived in St. Louis, Katja continued her musical studies, earning her master’s degree and doctorate from Washington University. She has cited the pianists Lillian Kallir and Leo Sirota (who taught at the St. Louis Conservatory of Music) as her most important musical mentors. Katja joined the faculty of Maryville University in 1975, and retired following the 2004-05 academic year. An avid traveler, Katja continued to explore the world during her retirement years. Ever curious, she remained a voracious reader and sparkling conversationalist to the end of her life.
In 1980, Katja founded the Music at Maryville professional concert series, and this legacy of Katja’s at Maryville University will continue—while the series has had to be temporarily suspended during the 2020-21 season owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, we plan to resume activities in 2021-22.
By Peter Henderson, artist-in-residence and associate professor of music
