Last week Director of the LIVS, Charles Rufino, attended a memorial service for musician and friend Olga Zilboorg. Ms. Zilboorg passed away at age 83. She was a cellist primarily and taught music for more than 50 years. Born and raised in Mexico City, Ms. Zilboorg had many influential teachers and was dedicated to passing on to her students what she had learned from her mentors.

As a young woman she moved to the US to study at the University of Kansas and then the Manhattan School of Music. Upon graduation she joined the St. Louis Symphony. She eventually left St. Louis to pursue a solo career. In 1965 she married Thomas Irvine Junior who taught engineering at Stony Brook University. She became heavily immersed in musical life at SBU. She was an early member of the Stony Brook Pre-College Music Program and took on many grad students as helpers and musical partners.

Ms Zilboorg was the founder of North Shore Pro Musica and remained an active performer on the East End and for the Long Island Philharmonic. In 2009 she received the Brookhaven Office of Women's Service "Visual and Performing Arts" award.