Longy School Famous Faculty Dumont Dies at 94

Long term Longy School of Music faculty member, Lily Dumont, died at the age of 94 at her home, March 6, 2006 in New Bedford, MA. Ms. Dumont was a concert pianist and teacher on the faculty of the Longy School for more than 40 years, and taught privately until around age 92. She was born in Berlin, the daughter of Jakob Dymont, a well-known Jewish synagogue music composer. Lily was famous in her own right before the second world war as a concert pianist, and had already played with many of the leading orchestras in Europe by the time of her departure during the Nazi regime in Germany. Via colleagues in the US, she made her way to New England, and eventually divided time between concertizing world wide, teaching and her family. Ms. Dumont’s musical friends and admirers ranked among the most sophisticated in the world. She was a well-loved musician from her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic at age 15 to her final concert in New Bedford’s Zeiterion Theatre in 2000. The Boston Globe carried an article about her in the Thursday, March 9, 2006 edition which quoted Raphael Hillyer as saying “With the greatest refinement and with great intensity she performed with a radiance that lighted every work. Her range of expression was astonishing…”