Olga Gorelli, 85, of Hopewell Township died at her home on Saturday.
Born in Bologna, Italy, she came to the United States in 1937 and resided in Philadelphia and Trenton before moving to Hopewell Township in 1965.
A composer and piano teacher, Mrs. Gorelli was known for her musical talents. She began composing as a child in Italy. Her first piano pieces were published when she was 10 years old. She pursued her music studies in the United States, graduating from Immaculata College, the Curtis Institute of Music, Smith College and the Yale University School of Music. She also did graduate work at the Eastman School of Music.
Mrs. Gorelli taught music theory at Hollins College in Virginia and piano at Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey). She also taught privately at her home and composed each morning up until her recent illness. She wrote orchestral and choral pieces, songs for voice with various instruments, a mass, two operas, two dance dramas, and works for different combinations of strings, brass, and woodwinds.
She was a member of the Belle Mead Friends of Music, Darius Milhaud Society, New Jersey Composers’ Guild, Pennington Kleio Club, Piano Teachers Forum, and the Princeton Music Club.
Daughter of the late Isaac and Tatiana Gratch, sister of the late Michael Gratch and grandmother of the late Stephen MacDonough, she is survived by her husband of 50 years, Dr. Giuliano Gorelli, a retired urologist; a daughter Lucy Gorelli of Yardley, Pa.; a son Julian F. Gorelli of Pennington; a granddaughter, Amy MacDonough; and a brother Serge Gratch of Bingham Farms, Mich.
A memorial tribute to Mrs. Gorelli will be aired on the radio program, "Classical Discoveries," on WPRB (103.3 FM) or on line at www.wprb.com on Wednesday (Feb. 22) beginning about 10 a.m.
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated in St. James Church, 115 E. Delaware Ave., Pennington, at 10:30 a.m. on Friday.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. James Church of Pennington.
Arrangements are by the Blackwell Memorial Home, Pennington.
