SIUE To Hold Memorial Service for Famed Pianist Ruth Slenczynska Kerr

EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville will honor Ruth Slenczynska Kerr, a world-renowned concert pianist and former SIUE artist-in-residence and music professor emerita, with a public memorial service at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, in the university’s Katherine Dunham Hall Theater, following her death in April 2026.

The Ruth Slenczynska Kerr Memorial Service is being presented by SIUE, the Ruth Slenczynska Scholarship and the College of Arts and Sciences. The service is free and open to the public.

Slenczynska performed more than 3,000 recitals and concerts worldwide, appeared with the world’s greatest orchestras, recorded music for multimedia and was the last known surviving student of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The memorial service will feature recorded performances, interview excerpts and photos of Slenczynska; comments by distinguished speakers, including former St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Conductor Laureate Leonard Slatkin and Chancellor Randy Pembrook, PhD; performances by former Slenczynska students; and reflections, stories and readings by colleagues, family members, pupils and friends.

“The College of Arts and Sciences is justifiably proud of the fact that internationally acclaimed pianist Ruth Slenczynska chose to come to SIUE in the University’s early years and decided to remain a member of the SIUE faculty for more than two decades. She drew attention to our music program and was instrumental in establishing the Department of Music’s culture of artistic excellence. This memorial service gives us the opportunity to recognize her accomplishments, reflect on the lives of the many musicians she influenced, and honor her contributions to SIUE and to the art of piano performance,” Kevin Leonard, PhD, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said.

A reception will follow the service in the Dunham Hall Lobby. During the reception, the public will be able to view the new Ruth Slenczynska Display Case, which holds one of Slenczynska’s concert dresses, her Fabergé egg necklace from Rachmaninoff and other items documenting her career.

Memorial donations may be made to the Ruth Slenczynska Scholarship, Fund 7303, to support SIUE student pianists pursuing degrees in music performance or music education. The university said $25,000 is needed to endow the new scholarship.

To donate to a Ruth Slenczynska Scholarship Fund, visit the link:https://connect.siue.edu/g/ruth-slenczynska-scholarship or scan the QR Code below. Your generous contributions will benefit music students and further Ruth Slenczynska’s impactful legacy at SIUE for generations to come!

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