Patricia Travers

Patricia Travers was born in Clifton, New Jersey, the daughter of a well-to-do family. Her father, a successful attorney, was also an amateur violin maker, and he gave Patricia a 1/4 size violin on her third birthday. She was a quick study, and at age six, she gave her first concert. She became well-known locally, and her success earned her an appearance at Carnegie Hall in 1938 - at the age of nine. Her success spread nationwide after that, and it earned her several concert appearances. In 1940, Paramount signed her to appear in the film "There's Magic in Music." The film itself achieved modest results, but it showcased her talents for millions to see and served as a springboard for her career. Travers was originally signed to simply perform a violin work (an arrangement of Anton Rubinstein's Romance in E flat), but the director found out that she was also a good actress, and her deadpan wisecracking upstaged even the established adults. As a result, she won acclaim from even the toughest critics. Good actress or not, Travers was first and foremost a violinist, and her family turned down requests to appear in more movies. For the next eleven years, the petite, curly-haired young girl had a full schedule of concert appearances, performing as often as 100 times per year. To ensure that she got a reasonable education, she was accompanied by a private tutor, and often also by her mother Veronica. Travers was not only a prodigal musician far beyond her years; she was considered a fine violinist, regardless of age or gender. She may have been a young girl in appearance, but she was an accomplished musician, and her performances were considered as good as those of concert violinists many times her age. There exists, in newspaper archives and elsewhere, a solid record of concert appearances from 1941 until late 1951, including at least 60 with symphony orchestras. At some point in the 1950's, Travers stopped giving concerts and devoted her interests to helping her family with their many business interests. According to Travers, she and her parents "played the real estate game for many years." She sold her violins during the mid 1950's and never returned to the concert stage. Upon leaving the concert tour, Travers returned to living with her parents in the home she grew up in; she lived there until her mother's death in the mid 1990's. She moved to a condominium for her final 15 years, overseeing several properties that she owned. An only child, Travers never married. Travers died of cancer on February 9, 2010. She left no immediate survivors.