Elaine Hartong Klein, co-founder of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, passed away December 26, 2020 in Berkeley, California at age 98. Elaine won an audition to join the Metropolitan Opera Ballet at age 16, in 1939, and danced at the Met for 6 years. She was also a member of the June Taylor Dancers. She married Irving Merel Klein, cellist of the Claremont String Quartet, in 1944, and travelled on many concert tours with them, including several under the auspices of the US State Department Cultural Exchange Program. Elaine was an excellent pianist, and served as both a dance teacher and accompanist. She and Irving lived in New York City, Winston-Salem NC, and the Bay Area. Elaine’s deep love for music drew her to serve as an active member of the Board of the Rossmoor Chamber Music Society among other organizations, during her 11 years living in Rossmoor, in Walnut Creek, California. She also served on the board of the California Music Center for many years.
Elaine is survived by her son, Mitchell Sardou Klein, Artistic Director of the Klein Competition, and Music Director of the Peninsula Symphony; daughters-in-law Maria Klein and Patricia Whaley; grandchildren Randy Klein, Jenny Klein-Sosa, Elizabeth Klein, and Benjamin Klein, four great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her younger son Jerry Klein and her husband, Irving.
We will miss her warm, sweet smile, encouragement and dedication to the mission of the California Music Center, now in its 36th year, and the young artists it serves.
Join the Elaine Klein Society
In 2011, California Music Center formed the Elaine Klein Society to recognize those loyal supporters who include CMC in their estate plans. Elaine, the wife of Irving M. Klein, has been one of the cornerstones of the organization throughout its history, and by naming the Society in her honor, we celebrate her unfailing support of musicians throughout her life, both within her own family and throughout the broader community of string players via her work on the Irving M. Klein International String Competition. Elaine, we salute and honor you!
To join the Elaine Klein Society, please complete and return the Pledge Form
To make a one-time gift in memory of Elaine, please click HERE or on the button at right.
CMC will receive an additional % of your gift through this link from the PayPal Giving Fund.
Below is the text of a letter that Elaine wrote to announce the formation of the Elaine Klein Society:
Dear Friends,
I am writing to give you an important update on the California Music Center (CMC), producer of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, and our plans for the future.
First, let me thank you for your loyal support that has seen us through 32 years of nurturing and promoting some of the world’s finest young string players at the beginning of their careers. The Klein Competition and CMC are thriving and healthy.
I am excited to announce that CMC has initiated a planned giving program and created an endowment fund. I am truly honored that our Board of Directors has named the program the Elaine Klein Society. This is an important step to ensure the future prosperity of CMC and to further Irving’s teaching goals and commitment to young musicians’ careers. I am also pleased to be the inaugural member of the Society by pledging a bequest to the organization. Irving would be so proud of what we have achieved.
Please keep the California Music Center at the top of the list of organizations you cherish when you next revisit your estate plan. You can formalize your membership in the Elaine Klein Society with the Pledge Form, and you will enjoy a number of benefits as well. You may contact Mitch or Marcy Straw, our Executive Director, should you wish to discuss your plans.
Thank you again for your kindness and generosity.
Yours truly, Elaine
November 2011