Inez Bull: A Musical Bull Story - A Norwegian-American Pioneer, Concert Pianist, Soprano, Writer, Special Education Teacher and Ole Bull Promoter - Paperback

by Ragnar V. Moen (Author)

"Inez Bull: A musical Bull Story" by Ragnar V. Moen The book describes the life of Inez Bull. She was very sick during her first ten years, but she later became a famous coloratura soprano giving concerts in Europe and the United States. After that she became a concert pianist playing duos with Vladimir Padwa (a founding member of the First Piano Quartet), Robert Wilson, and Philip Field. She was educated at Juilliard. Her father was a Norwegian diplomat. Inez devoted her life to promote the world famous Norwegian violinist, Ole Bull. She started the Ole Bull Music Festival as well as the Ole Bull Museum in Pennsylvania. She also started the Awards Concerts in New York City and paid for the concert hall for over fifty years. These yearly concerts enabled young musicians from rural Pennsylvania to perform on a New York stage. Inez was a music teacher for forty-four years in the Union City school system, New Jersey. Her teaching of special children for fifteen years at the North Jersey Training School in Totowa, New Jersey, inspired a movie "A Child is Waiting" with Judy Garland and Burt Lancaster. Inez has a very impressive family history. She is connected to the powerful families Bull, Falsen, Hambro and Brun in Norway and Oersted and Moth in Denmark. About two hundred of her ancestors on her mother's side came to the United States between 1620 and 1640. She had an audience with King Haakon VII of Norway as well as with his son King Olav V. In 1999 she was awarded the St. Olav's Medal for promoting Norwegian culture in the United States. She is also the author of about thirty books. Inez died in 2010.She was never married and had no children. She left assets to the Spunky Norwegian Foundation. They award two scholarships, and they continue the Ole Bull Music Festival in Galeton, Pennsylvania, and the Awards Concerts in New York City.

Author Biography

The author was born in Norway. After receiving a Ph. D. in chemistry from Aachen University in Germany, he immigrated to America and was employed as a research chemist for Exxon at their Research Center in Linden, New Jersey. He later worked for over 25 years at General Magnaplate in the same town. He has known Inez Bull for thirteen years, and has been a guest speaker at her Ole Bull Music Festival for ten years. He is retired and lives in Union, New Jersey.