PAN PIPES • FALL 2017 • sai-national.org
14
A LIFE IN MUSIC
By Ekaterina Puccini Timofeyew
M
aestro Adelina M. Puccini
was born in Albuquerque,
NM, and has been a member
of SAI since her initiation in
1935 as a charter member of
the Alpha Sigma Chapter at the University of New
Mexico. She is also a member of SAI's Composer's
Bureau. Many people would be surprised to hear
that at 102 years of age, Adelina is adding another
aspect of the arts to her repertoire. Adelina is
diligently working on two historical novels - the
first set in WWII and the second, an historical
novel about Italian immigrants in the Southwest.
In addition, a testamentary video about Adelina
has been shot and edited, and will be included in
the archives of United Stated Holocaust Memorial
Museum in Washington, D.C., as well as the New
Mexico Holocaust and Intolerance Museum aer
the release of the first book.
Maestro Puccini spent the early years of her
life craing her musicianship. As a child of six,
the family traveled to Lucca, Italy, her father's
ancestral home. What Adelina did not know was
that the Puccini family was established in Lucca
as a local musical dynasty in the 1700's. At her
young age, Adelina seemed musically inclined,
and was sent to study piano with Maestro
Lamberto Landi who was a highly respected
musician and composer. While in Lucca, Adelina
had the privilege of meeting her acclaimed and
The Life And Times Of
Maestro Adelina Puccini
Kyle Zimmerman
Above, the composer in a recent photo and, at right, as a young woman.
