She later studied at the Berlin University of Music[1] under the composer Hermann Grabner and the organist Fritz Heitmann.

[2] During World War II, she met her future husband, William Duesberg, a journalist who was repeatedly imprisoned for writing stories critical of Adolf Hitler.

[1] During the Civil Rights Movement, she played the organ at Friendship Baptist Church in Harlem when the Rev.

[3] Meanwhile, she composed violin and cello sonatas, string quartets, song cycles, concertos, and a wide range of choral works.

Her compositions have been performed on major concert stages in the U.S., Canada, and Europe as well as the Aspen, Ravinia and Spoleto festivals.