Rayna Barroll Aschaffenburg

COLUMBIA - Dr. Rayna Barroll Aschaffenburg passed away on December 20, 2016, in Columbia, South Carolina. Rayna was a classical concert pianist. Her children’s earliest memories were of Rayna’s devoting nearly all non-child care hours to practicing the piano. If she missed a single note, she would replay the entire piece until it was flawless; this was a lesson for her children better than any lecture. Rayna was born April 23, 1930, the daughter of Joseph and Ida Klatzkin, in Trenton, New Jersey, as part of Trenton’s large Lithuanian Jewish community. Her father had been born in a small Lithuanian shtetl. Rayna often stated that she thanked God every day that her family had been able to come to the United States, and she often expressed profound disappointment at the current attitude towards immigration in the United States. As a child she remembered members of her extended family disappearing in the Holocaust, and she often remarked that she was about the same age as Anne Frank. Dr. Aschaffenburg was a retired tenured professor of piano performance at Arizona State University for 20 years. She had previously taught at the University of South Carolina in the 1970s. Rayna was the widow of her beloved husband, Dr. Walter Aschaffenburg, a world-renowned composer. She is survived by her children, J. Leeds Barroll, IV (Kate), of Lexington, James E. Barroll (Robbie) of Charlotte, and Ellen Barroll of Phoenix; grandchildren, Amy Barroll, Joseph Barroll, and Agnes Barroll; and her brother, Clive Klatzkin. She was predeceased by her brother Lloyd Klatzkin. She is also survived by her first husband, Dr. J. Leeds Barroll, numerous nieces and nephews, and a special friend, James Hancock. Rayna attended the public schools of Trenton, New Jersey, skipping a year in the process. Her parents always commented that they never had to discipline her. At age 17, Rayna enrolled in Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At that time public school graduates were as rare as Jewish students. Rayna stated that she had never had to write a research paper in high school, but she soon adjusted and became an honor student in college. While in college she met a Harvard student, J. Leeds Barroll, and left college after her junior year to get married. At that time, marrying outside of one’s religion was quite controversial. There followed a 25-year period of travel throughout the world, as she accompanied Professor Barroll, a world-renowned Shakespearean scholar, to various universities throughout the world. Rayna initially lived in Asheville, North Carolina, for 2 years, where her first son was born. Shortly thereafter, Rayna moved to New York, where her second son was born 13 ½ months after the first. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Princeton, New Jersey. At this point, Rayna was raising 2 young children and giving numerous piano lessons on the side, both in Princeton and in Trenton. In 1956 she moved to Austin, Texas, for her husband’s first appointment as a professor. By this point her two sons were in school, and Rayna completed her college degree at the University of Texas. Rayna continued to give numerous piano lessons and concerts. The 4-year stint in Texas was interrupted by temporary residences in Pasadena, California, and Toronto, Ontario, where the knowledge of Rayna’s talents spread. In 1960 Rayna moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where her husband began teaching at the University of Cincinnati. During this move she was pregnant with her third child, Ellen Barroll, who was born in Cincinnati. She lived in Cincinnati from 1960 through 1967, and was widely known in Cincinnati for giving a well-attended annual concert in conjunction with Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Each year it was widely reviewed in the local Cincinnati newspapers. The time in Cincinnati was interrupted by another temporary stay in Madison, Wisconsin, as well as annual summer stays in Trenton, New Jersey, where she continued giving lessons there, as well as in Cincinnati. From 1967-1968, Rayna lived in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, where she kept track of two teenagers and a first-grader. The 1968-1969 academic years brought yet another move to Nashville, Tennessee. In Nashville, Rayna got her first full-time appointment as a music professor at Fisk University. She was the only full-time professor who did not possess a graduate degree. The 1969-1970 academic years brought another move to Montclair, New Jersey, when Rayna received her Master’s Degree in music at Rutgers University. The next year, in 1970, Rayna moved to Columbia, where she lived until 1975. She taught music part-time at the University of South Carolina and continued giving music lessons and concerts. In 1975 there came another move to Rockville, Maryland, and other Washington suburbs. After amicably divorcing, Rayna then received her PhD in Piano Performance at the University of Maryland in 1980. She then quickly became a Professor of Piano Performance at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, where she was given tenure. It should be noted that most music professor jobs are in education, and there are very few such jobs available in piano performance. In 1987, she married Dr. Walter Aschaffenburg in Phoenix. Rayna retired in 2000 after 20 years of teaching. Rayna always loved teaching and was most interested in the progress of her students. After the death of her beloved husband, Walter, Rayna moved to Lexington, South Carolina. Rayna was a member of Tree of Life Congregation in Columbia. Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com.