Margaret Baxtresser

Who was Margaret Baxtresser?

Margaret Baxtresser was an internationally renowned American concert pianist. She was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan.

At age 13, she was a soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. At age 20, she won a Walter W. Naumburg Foundation Award. Her concert career included soloing with many major symphony orchestras and took her to venues around the globe. In 1994, she became the first American artist to perform in Vietnam after the Vietnam War. The government of Vietnam invited her back on several occasions to perform. A staunch supporter of the arts in her local community of Akron, Ohio, as well as internationally, she was a professor emeritus at Kent State University, where she taught piano for 25 years. She was married to Earl Baxtresser, with whom she raised two sons, two daughters, and two adopted daughters. Her eldest daughter is flutist Jeanne Baxtresser.