Lorne Munroe 1924-2020 | In Memoriam

Longtime cello faculty member Lorne Munroe died in May

Longtime cello faculty member Lorne Munroe died May 4 at age 95. He was principal cello of the New York Philharmonic for more than 30 years (1964-96), a tenure that included more than 150 concerto collaborations.

Born November 24, 1924, in Winnipeg, Canada, Munroe met his future wife, violist Janée Gilbert Munroe (Pre-College faculty 1981-98), while studying at the Curtis Institute of Music, he with Gregor Piatigorsky and she with William Primrose (Juilliard faculty 1955-57). According to a profile the New York Times ran when Munroe was named first cello of the New York Philharmonic, in 1964, Munroe enlisted in the infantry when he turned 18 and Janée joined an all-girl USO orchestra. They were married by an Army chaplain in 1945 and would go on to have 10 sons and a daughter. Janée died in September 2006.

Munroe, who won a Naumburg Award in 1949, also studied at the Royal College of Music. He joined the Cleveland and then the Minneapolis symphony orchestras before becoming principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra (1951-64) and then the New York Philharmonic. He joined the Juilliard faculty in fall 1973 and retired in 2000; he also taught at what is now called the Philadelphia University for the Arts. The Juilliard community mourns his death.

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