PALDI, Mari

American composer Mari Paldi was born in Michigan in January 1878, the second daughter of Justin Louis Paldi and Roxa Tyler Paldi. Justin Paldi was a highly regarded civil engineer whose work sometimes forced him to live far away from his family. Mari spent much of her young life with her mother and sister in Chicago. Mari’s older sister Zelda became a famous actress and screenwriter under the name Zelda Sears.

Census records tell us that Mari Paldi worked all her life as a “musician” and an “instructor of music”. Many newspaper clippings of piano recitals of the 30’s and 40’s show programs listing pieces with Mari Paldi as composer. However, it appears that very few of her compositions have been preserved in our national library system.