Peggy Rippe Salkind

Peggy Rippe Salkind, 92— September 22, 1925 to May 20, 2018. Peggy dedicated her life to her family and to music, which she called, “a friend for life.” Her specialty became “piano four hands,” a unique repertoire played by two people at one piano, and she and her husband Milton (who was the president of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1966 to 1990) are credited with leading a small renaissance in a classical music endeavor largely lost to the 19th century. A Juilliard graduate, Peggy taught piano at the San Francisco Conservatory for 38 years and chaired its keyboard department. She implemented the first-of-its-kind professional and business training program for musicians, now commonplace at conservatories across the country. Peggy also taught generations of private piano students in Marin over the past six decades. When her children were grown, Peggy went back to college to study English literature. Soon after, she earned a master’s degree in psychology from the Fielding Institute in Santa Barbara. In her 60s, when she was no longer performing four hands, she began giving solo piano concerts, playing some of the most challenging pieces in classical piano repertoire—from Bach’s Goldberg Variations to all 32 of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas over nine months. Believing in the healing and joyful power of music, Peggy performed as a volunteer at churches, community centers, retirement homes, and other non-profits throughout the Bay Area. In 1995, Peggy launched an annual series of 10 concerts for the residents of Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco. In 2006, she won a Milley Award, which honors artists and other local luminaries who live in Mill Valley, CA where Peggy was a resident for over 65 years. Strong and independent, she was a voracious reader and an accomplished crossword puzzler. Peggy is survived by her daughter Karen Ashley of New York and her son Mark Salkind (head of the Urban School in San Francisco) and his wife Miranda Heller. Contributions in Peggy’s honor can be made to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.