Hazel Penniman Luther is not only Juilliard's oldest living graduate-at 112, she's older than the School itself. The Institute of Musical Art (as it was known then) was founded by Frank Damrosch in 1905 and had just moved to Claremont Avenue at 122nd Street when Hazel Houghton Penniman arrived from Worcester, Mass. in 1910, to earn diplomas in the Regular Singing Course (1913) and the Singing-Artists Course (1915).

A descendant of Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower, Hazel Penniman Luther was born on December 11, 1889. After accompanying her veterinarian father on house calls, she briefly considered becoming a doctor-but the social dictates of the times and her parents' wishes steered her toward the more genteel pursuit of music. Her first job after graduation-teaching voice at a private girls' school, National Park Seminary in Forest Glen, Md.-came on the strength of a reference from none other than Frank Damrosch himself, who wrote that he was "not only sending a good teacher and a good singer, but a lady as well."

Luther's hand-written diaries from her Institute years (photocopies of which were generously shared with The Journal by her great-niece, Gail Arcari) reveal a spirited, intelligent, and gracious young woman whose boundless enthusiasm and curiosity took in all that the School and the city had to offer. (Her deep religious faith and strong family ties are evidenced as well.) In addition to voice (her teacher was Ella Toedt), her studies included piano, music theory, ear training, Italian, German, stage deportment ("fascinating," she wrote), and choral class. Luther kept notes on her progress and her frustrations (she was "scared green" before her first recital, and found pre-performance "wobbly knees and parched lips" a constant challenge). She also recorded impressions of the noted performers she went to hear at every opportunity-Kreisler, Ysae, Paderewski, John McCormack, Melba, and Galli-Curci among them. (Standing room to hear Caruso was $1.50 "and it's worth it"-he was "wonderful" even if "far too conceited to rave over, I think.")

In 1916, she sang for an event at the Institute that honored Percy Grainger and saved a program he autographed for her. (A note printed on programs of the era reminds students that they "may not wear hats at any Recital at the Institute. Our Guests are requested kindly to conform to this custom.")

At home for the summer of 1915, she "learned to run our Chevrolet" and took note of Robert Luther, a fellow who sang bass in her church. They married in Washington, D.C. on November 16, 1918 ("The armistice was signed five days before," she noted). They spent many happy years in Detroit, where he worked for Provident Mutual Life Insurance. Though they had no children, Luther delighted in her niece and nephew. (Her husband died in 1957.)

According to Recordholders.org, the Web site of The Guinness Book of World Records, Luther is the eighth oldest living person in the world-and the oldest living woman born in the U.S., according to the Gerontolgy Research Group. (The world's oldest living person is Marie Bremont of France, at 116.) A resident of Olds Hall Good Samaritan Center (a Lutheran retirement community in Daytona Beach, Fla.) since 1993, Luther enjoys chatting with the caged birds in the parlor and flirting with the doctors. She is delighted to be regarded as "the cat's whisker's" again-a subject of study for gerontologists and an inspiration for the rest of us.

- Jane Rubinsky