Pianist 'Dr. Ira' known for teaching generations, serenading library guests

Belvedere resident Ira Mendlowitz, a beloved pianist and piano teacher known to locals simply as “Dr. Ira,” died Aug. 23 at MarinHealth Medical Center in Greenbrae. He was 79.

Mendlowitz had a doctorate in music from Stanford University and played concerts around the world, including as a musician-in-residence at Hawaii hotels. However, he was perhaps best known on the peninsula for the nearly 25 years he spent serenading attendees of the Belvedere-Tiburon Library’s Wednesday afternoon tea, where the multigenerational crowd that sometimes overflowed onto the patio would sing and dance along.

Many of those who gathered at the tea were Mendlowitz’s own students; he spent 55 years teaching piano to an estimated 1,200 children, said his brother, Edward Mendlowitz, as well as to some adults.

Tiburon resident Alice Shelton, a one-time student who also was on the committee that organized the tea sessions, said Mendlowitz was a dedicated library volunteer who “brought so much joy to people’s lives.”

“He was fun,” Shelton said. “He made music fun.”

Mendlowitz was born March 28, 1945, in Manhattan to certified public accountant Arthur Mendlowitz and homemaker Ellen Teitelbaum. He was born three years after Edward, a retired CPA now residing in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

Music ran in the family, Edward said, as their mother was musical and their uncle played viola for Broadway musicals. Other family members had doctorates in music, taught high-school music or served as professional musicians in orchestras, he said.

The family grew up in the Bronx, where Mendlowitz played multiple instruments and sang but “was fantastic with the piano.” His talent was clear to one of his earliest piano teachers, Edward said.

“She gave him the lessons,” he said. “And then, after a while, she said, ‘You know, he has to go to somebody better than me.’”

Mendlowitz received his bachelor’s in music in 1964 from Hunter College in Manhattan, according to commencement ceremony programming, which also lists him receiving two awards related to his performances and service in the school choir.

At Hunter, Mendlowitz would turn pages of sheet music for violinists Yehudi Menuhin and David Oistrakh during their New York City performances, which Edward said was a coveted gig. Around 1963, Mendlowitz composed music for a musical for his Hunter classmates alongside lyricist Philip Mishkin, who would go on to write episodes for television sitcoms like “All in the Family,” “Happy Days,” “The Odd Couple” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

Mendlowitz went on to receive a master’s in music from Oakland-based Mills College in 1966 and his doctorate from Stanford in 1974, where his final-project adviser was Leland Smith, a musician who developed music-notation software Score. Mendlowitz’s project was a musical score called “Parousia: A Cosmic Mass in Micro-tones.”

As part of his music studies in and out of college, Mendlowitz studied under composers Nadia Boulanger, performing a recital with her, and electronic-music pioneer Morton Subotnick, as well as Darius Milhaud.

In 1975, Mendlowitz moved to the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where he spent roughly 15 years as a musician. Edward said his brother became “like a local celebrity” on the island, where he performed at resorts and hotels, organized local bands, taught music to schoolchildren and wrote musicals performed at theater companies throughout the state.

He moved to Belvedere about 1991, his brother said, living on Mallard Road at the time of his death. During the late 1990s, Mendlowitz played piano at San Francisco nightclubs. About the same time, he began performing at the Belvedere-Tiburon Library, said former library Director Debbie Mazzolini. He was a steady presence at the teas, which have been on hiatus since the 2020 start of the coronavirus pandemic.

“He was a beautiful piano player,” Mazzolini said, adding that his performances helped bring residents together “in a really, really pleasant way.”

Shelton, the former student and one of the organizers of the teas, said Mendlowitz played Broadway numbers and classical pieces while also taking requests and playing the occasional “Happy Birthday” for young babies and centenarians.

Mendlowitz would begin his library performances with “Tea for Two,” Shelton said, the 1924 song that first appeared in musical “No, No, Nanette” and was sung by Doris Day in the 1950 film sharing the song’s name.

“Everyone loved having him in a room,” Shelton said, adding that Mendlowitz would dress up if teatime was themed that week, and he’d show up in costume during Halloween events.

Edward said his brother was passionate about teaching kids.

“He didn’t get rich doing it, but he loved doing it,” he said, adding that the annual recitals Mendlowitz would organize for his students would become “extravaganzas.”

Edward also said his younger brother was friendly and outgoing, adding that he “can’t think of him ever being nasty or mean,” handing out CDs of his performances to his friends.

Shelton said she will miss Mendlowitz’s music, smile and the joy he brought to others, adding that he was good at bringing the community together to have people “come in and look forward to seeing one another.”

Mendlowitz helped make the library a community gathering place, Mazzolini said.

“You just felt you were in a special place,” she said. “And I think that that was because of what he did.”

In addition to Edward Mendlowitz and Edward’s spouse, Ronnie, Ira Mendlowitz is survived by nephews Andrew and Richard and grandnephews Samuel and Ryan. He was preceded in death by his parents.

A private memorial service was held Aug. 27 at Beth Israel Cemetery in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

Donations in Mendlowitz’s name can be made to the charity of one’s choosing.

Reach Tiburon reporter Francisco Martinez at 415-944-4634. To support local journalism, SUBSCRIBE NOW for home delivery and access to the digital replica.

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