Elinor Warren, 91; Pioneering Composer

Elinor Remick Warren, a pioneering woman composer who wrote more than 200 pieces for voice and orchestra during her 75-year career, died Saturday in her Los Angeles home after a short illness. She was 91.

A native of Los Angeles, Miss Warren frequently performed as piano soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The orchestra and Los Angeles Master Chorale premiered many of her works.

Her first choral-orchestral work, “The Harp Weaver,” won critical acclaim in 1936 when it was introduced in New York’s Carnegie Hall.

She won a national following in 1940 when the Los Angeles Philharmonic performed her choral symphony, “The Legend of King Arthur,” on a live network radio broadcast.

A popular recording artist for six decades, Miss Warren made her last record when she was 87.

Recognized in a field that had been dominated by men, Miss Warren earned a Los Angeles Times “Woman of the Year” award in 1953, became a fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts in 1976, and was given an honorary degree of doctor of music by Occidental College.

She had attended Mills College and studied privately with musicians in New York and Paris.

Miss Warren was married to film producer and civic leader Z. Wayne Griffin from 1936 until his death in 1981. She is survived by three children, James Griffin, Z. Wayne Griffin Jr., Elayne Griffin Techentin, and five grandchildren.

The family has asked that any memorial contributions by made to the Elinor Remick Warren Music Scholarship at Occidental College or to Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles.

Funeral services are scheduled at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Wilshire Methodist Church in Los Angeles.