FROM JUILLIARD AND AROUND THE WORLD TO THE BUCKINGHAM LIFELONG FRIENDS REUNITE AS NEIGHBORS

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1 8580 Woodway Drive Houston, Texas Phone (832) Fax (713) News Release Contact: Natasha Baker/Beth Wilbins, Forté PR Phone: (214) , (469) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 10, 2009 FROM JUILLIARD AND AROUND THE WORLD TO THE BUCKINGHAM LIFELONG FRIENDS REUNITE AS NEIGHBORS HOUSTON, JULY 10, 2009: While many retirees have led and continued to lead accomplished lives, very few are referred to as both child prodigy and masters of a particular art. However, two residents of The Buckingham retirement community have earned these distinctions because of their natural musical ability combined with their years of tireless dedication and training. Josephine McAndrew, formerly Josephine Kinney, and Betty Ruth Tomfohrde, formerly Betty Ruth Robbins, both began their careers in music at a very young age under the direction of well-known and respected musicians. McAndrew, a violinist, won a scholarship at the Cleveland Institute of Music at the age of 8 to study with Louis Persinger, the famed teacher of Yehudi Menuhin. Tomfohrde, a pianist, studied in Houston with well-known teacher Ruth Burr, who had a profound effect on her life as a pianist.

2 FROM JUILLIARD AND AROUND THE WORLD TO THE BUCKINGHAM Page 2 In 1941, the two ladies met at the Juilliard Graduate School where they both were accepted on full scholarship. Though they play different instruments, they had a lot in common including the exact same birthday and quickly became friends. Together, they lived at the Parnassus Club which was a residents club for young women to live and study in New York City. It was a great honor to be accepted into the Juilliard Graduate School, said Tomfohrde. Only two hundred people were accepted into the program and we studied with the greatest teachers of the age. During their studies at Juilliard, World War II brought about a unique opportunity for both Tomfohrde and McAndrew to perform with The Concert Division of the United Services Organizations (USO) Camp Shows. This opportunity took both ladies on USO Camp Show tours around the world. Though they were in separate groups, both took a leave of absence from Juilliard to tour overseas and play concerts for the armed forces. While traveling, the ladies wore military uniforms and regardless of the whether conditions changed into formal attire for concerts that were oftentimes held in tents. McAndrew participated in three tours with the USO Camp Shows which took her to places such as England, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, North Africa, South America, the Caribbean, New Finland and Iceland. Tomfohrde participated in one tour and traveled to France, Germany, Belgium and Holland. It was scary at times but also an amazing experience, said McAndrew. On my third tour with the USO Camp Shows, I was put on a troop ship in the middle of a night with no idea as to where I was going. I was given dog tags and had the rank of major in the

3 FROM JUILLIARD AND AROUND THE WORLD TO THE BUCKINGHAM Page 3 army in case of capture. The next morning, I discovered that the ship was headed to the United Kingdom and had been followed by German submarines across the Atlantic Ocean. After the war ended, along with their studies at Juilliard and the end of the USO Concert Division Tours, Tomfohrde and McAndrew each began a new stage of life, which took them in different directions for many years. Each married, raised children, and cultivated successful careers teaching and performing. McAndrew taught at West Texas University and was concert master of the Amarillo Symphony. She was a member of the first violin section in the Dallas Symphony, the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra, the Grand Park Symphony, the Chicago Little Symphony and the Chicago Chamber Orchestra. During the summers she was on the faculty at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan and in 1972, she moved to Houston to play in the first violin section of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. After 21 years with the symphony, McAndrew retired. Tomfohrde s husband worked for Shell Oil Company, which allowed the couple to live in several different locations throughout the U.S. and spend one year in Hague, Holland. In each place the couple settled, Tomfohrde found her place performing publicly and teaching piano. In addition to her teaching, she also played as a soloist with the Seattle Symphony, the St. Louis Philharmonic, the Houston symphony and several others. One year, Tomfohrde served on the piano faculty of Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. In 1975, Tomfohrde and her husband returned to Houston, and in 1976 she joined the piano faculty at Moores School of Music at The University of Houston until she retired in She now serves the Moores School of Music as professor emeritus.

4 FROM JUILLIARD AND AROUND THE WORLD TO THE BUCKINGHAM Page 4 After leaving Juilliard, McAndrew and Tomfohrde maintained a friendship through mail and telephone and saw each other frequently once they both were reunited in Houston. At one point they gave a recital together at the University of Houston. Years later, McAndrew moved to The Buckingham. When Tomfohrde and her husband visited her, they decided that it was the perfect fit for them as well. Now more than 60 years after departing as neighbors at the Parnassus Club, McAndrew and Tomfohrde once again find themselves as neighbors and close friends at The Buckingham. Photos (left to right): #1 Josephine McAndrew #2 Betty Ruth Tomfohrde #3 Josephine McAndrew and Betty Ruth Tomfohrde are currently neighbors at The Buckingham. #4 Josephine McAndrew performs for the United States Armed Forces during WWII as part of the USO Concert Division Camp Show Tours. #5 Betty Ruth Tomfohrde (on piano) performs for the United States Armed Forces during WWII as part of the USO Concert Division Camp Show Tours. #6 Josephine McAndrew (right) traveled around the world during WWII with the USO Concert Division Camp Show Tours. ABOUT THE BUCKINGHAM The Buckingham is Houston s premier life care retirement community located in the Memorial neighborhood. Situated on a 17-acre site along Buffalo Bayou at 8580

5 FROM JUILLIARD AND AROUND THE WORLD TO THE BUCKINGHAM Page 5 Woodway Drive, The Buckingham offers resort-style services and amenities for active, independent seniors, as well as all levels of health care services on-site at The Plaza at The Buckingham. The community features 205 independent living residences; 43 private assisted living apartments; 16 private memory support apartments; and 60 private skilled nursing suites. The Buckingham is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit retirement community owned by Senior Quality Lifestyles Corporation (SQLC), a Texas-based nonprofit organization that owns sister communities Edgemere in Dallas, Querencia at Barton Creek in Austin, The Stayton at Museum Way under development in Fort Worth, and Mirador under development in Corpus Christi. For information call (832) , or visit - End -