Obituary: Winifred Keane, 93, Former Westport Resident

The following obituary is from Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home:

Winifred Keane passed away peacefully April 1, 2024 at 3:15 a.m. in Wallingford, CT. She was 93. She was born in Beijing, China in 1931, where her father, Dr. Fred Harbert was stationed as a naval doctor. She was the second of six girls born to Dr. Harbert and his wife, Frances Clark Harbert. She had an itinerant childhood as the daughter of a navy doctor. The family eventually settled in Bryn Mawr, PA.

In 1952, Winifred received a BFA degree in Voice and Composition from the University of Pennsylvania where she met her first husband, CommonFund founder George Keane. They had three children together: multiple award-winning composer and musician, Brian Keane, born in 1953; cellist and retired owner of Merit Music in New Canaan, Geoffrey Keane, born in 1954; and retired physical therapist, Dr. Sheila Keane, born in 1957.

After moving to the Berkshires as a new mother, Winifred directed a church choir, singing and composing music for them, and won two scholarships to Tanglewood. Moving to Westport, CT in 1957, Winifred studied voice with Metropolitan Opera bass, Alexander Kipnis and made her Carnegie Hall debut as lyric soprano in 1962 to critical acclaim. She performed her own compositions in various concert halls including Columbia and Yale Universities, Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Art Alliance and the Charles Ives Festival in Danbury, CT. Winifred was a member of the Westport community for 54 years before moving to Ashlar Village in Wallingford, CT in 2011.

After obtaining her teaching certification in music with a BS degree from Western Connecticut State University in 1967, she taught children K-6 in New Canaan and adult education at Fairfield University. She had many private students and ran the Creative Music Studio in Westport for several years. Later, she took up the French horn and played in bands, orchestras and solo recitals.

Winifred received an MFA degree in Composition from Sarah Lawrence College. Her woodwind and percussion compositions were premiered there under the tutelage of Saul Goodman of the New York Philharmonic in 1972. Her interest in world music found her singing Indian ragas at Wesleyan University and folk songs in Mandarin with Chinese traditional instrumentalists, as well as studying improvisation with cellist David Darling in the Music for People program.

Winifred was the recipient of commissions, awards and prizes for her compositions from the Westport Arts Center, the National League of American Pen Women and the National Endowment of the Arts. Her composition “International Greeting” was commissioned by the U.S. Coast Guard Band in 1985. She wrote compositions for opera, oratorio, choral, songs, orchestra, band, instrumental, sacred music, electronic and microtonal music. One of her more talked about pieces involved electronically processed recordings of Siamese cats, with vocal soloist and Moog synthesizer, which was choreographed for ballet.

A founding member of Connecticut Composers Inc., she later became a member of the American Composers Forum. Later, she developed an interest in poetry and is published by the Fellowship of Quakers in the Arts. Her music is published by Penryn Press.

Winifred was a long-time member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Wilton, CT and later, part of the Middletown fellowship. She was a prominent member in Al-Anon and various arts organizations. When she moved to Ashlar Village, she got involved with various arts groups there, including a poetry group that she was very fond of. She spent her final 13 years at Ashlar Village.

Winifred is predeceased by her sisters, Lorraine Morey and Jean Albright, her ex-husbands George F. Keane, Harvey Brickman and longtime companion and fellow Westport resident, Walter Schlenker. She is survived by her three children Brian, Geoffrey and Sheila Keane, two grandchildren, Wylder Keane and Dylan Keane and surviving sisters, Mary Weightman, Barbara Schauber and Carol Amling.

A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held on Sunday, April 7, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. at the Chapel at Masonicare Heath Center, 22 Masonic Way, Wallingford, CT 06492. You will be able to join the Ashlar memorial service online via: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86502841291.

There will also be a smaller, Quaker memorial at Wilton Quaker Meetinghouse, 317 New Canaan Road, Wilton, CT 06897 on Saturday, April 13, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Wilton Quaker Meeting to support its programs for social justice, environmental activism and education that will equip the next generation to navigate life’s challenges and opportunities. To donate: https://www.wiltonquakers.org/donate.