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Kris Getz was born in Los Angeles, and grew up in Tucson, Arizona. Her father had a dry goods store in Tucson. Kris rode horses and enjoyed the outdoors at the family ranch. She began taking piano lessons when she was four, sang in church choirs, and took guitar lessons. Kris attended Stanford on a Westinghouse Science Scholarship, and was interested in becoming a veterinarian. At Stanford Kris met her husband, Harold, who was from an old San Franciscan family.

Kris joined the Conservatory as a volunteer in the late 1950s. Her early responsibilities for the Conservatory ranged from polishing silver, to entertaining guests and organizing fundraisers. Kris undertook the enormous project of starting the Conservatory's first bookstore, the Music Rack. She also co-founded the fundraising group "St. Milton's Guild", which later became the Friends of the Conservatory. After Harold's death, Kris worked tirelessly at the Conservatory's previous location on Ortega Street to create a garden courtyard in memory of her husband. Kris joined the Conservatory's Board of Trustees in the early ‘70s, on which she remains a Lifetime Member.

Kris has devoted much of her life to helping others. In addition to her thoughtful and generous attentions to the Conservatory over the years, she also helped to build a library at the Alamo School in San Francisco, worked as a tour guide for foreign visitors in San Francisco, was in a folk singing duo, was a food runner, and still volunteers for Hospice.

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Topics

Session 1: Friday, December 13, 2013
Early Years
Stanford
Joining the Conservatory
The Music Rack
Milton Salkind
Early Commencements and Performances
Board of Trustees
Courtyard on Ortega Street
Milton's Guild (Friends of the Conservatory)
Lillian Hodghead
Memories of Conservatory members

Session 2: Saturday, December 14, 2013
Memories of Conservatory members
Trip to Russia
Kris Getz Composition Award
Ortega and Oak Street locations
Volunteer Activities
Family

Audio

Early years

Early commencements, performances

Ortega Street courtyard

Folk singing duo