Grethe Agatz

Grethe Agatz was a fervent jazz enthusiast and a pioneer in Danish children’s music and music teaching. Her work has inspired many of her successors.

Grethe Agatz received piano lessons at a very early age and since she grew up in a home where dancing was cultivated, her obvious first inspiration was the dance music of the day – jazz. After studying song, music and piano with Astrid Gøssel, in the 1930s she graduated as a pianist and music teacher. Grethe’s love of jazz did not change over the years, and she busily kept up with all that was happening on the jazz scene. In 1954, when Grethe Agatz obtained a post with the Kindergarten Teachers’ Course and worked for the first time with children and music, she went on to develop a keen interest in music educa­tion. Grethe Agatz was behind a number of music education projects in the Copenhagen park Kongens Have, where children of all ages sang and played Grethe’s music with great gusto. Grethe Agatz’ music is known for its cheerful, playful, singable sound, which gives child­ren scope to play, dance and improvise.