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Margaret Rosezarian Harris, a musician and educator who was the first black woman to conduct the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minnesota and 11 other American cities, died on March 7 in New York City. She was 56 and lived in Elmsford, N.Y.
The cause was a heart attack.
Ms. Harris was born in Chicago on Sept. 15, 1943, the only child of Dewey and Clara Townsend Harris.
Before her fourth birthday, she played a public piano recital of 18 short pieces and three encores, all performed from memory. She was soon performing in halls as far from home as the...