Yaada Weber

August 4, 1925 - October 2, 2019

Yaada Ruth Weber passed away peacefully October 2, at the age of 94. She was preceded in death by her loving husband Edward Burton Weber. The couple were long time residents of Oakland, California.

Yaada was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Gordon and Marion Cottington. As a teenage girl she witnessed the destruction of Pearl Harbor.. Yaada moved to Oakland from Hawaii when she received a scholarship to Mills College to study Flute and Composition as a Music Major. At Mills Yaada studied composition with Darius Milhaud and flute with Herbert Benkman. As a Composition Major, she composed a prize winning piece that was performed by the Paris National Orchestra. After college she became principal flutist for the Oakland Symphony Orchestra and performed with the orchestra for sixteen years. She was also the first flutist with the Oakland Municipal Band. At this time Yaada also began her tenure as a flute faculty member and chamber music coach at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and taught there into her eighties.

Yaada was inspired by the instruction she received from physiotherapist Amos Gunsberg. She studies with Gunsberg on her visits to New York for thirty years. His emphasis on the physical aspects of playing instruments revolutionized Yaada’s techniques and flute instruction. She inspired countless flute students and chamber musicians throughout her teaching career.

One of the happiest times in Yaada’s career was her collaboration with the Julliard trained pianist, Philip Manwell. They formed Duo Linos and concertized throughout California. They also won the Geneva Competition while performing in Switzerland. Duo Linos made music together for twenty years.

Yaada and her husband were longtime members of the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland. Yaada was also an avid bird watched and ornithologist. She was a voracious reader and through her later studies became a champion of Winston Churchill.

A private memorial will be held to celebrate her life.