Ann Spurbeck was an "elegant grande dame" of the violin who played a record 52 years with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra while also playing on records by Elvis, Isaac Hayes and Al Green. For most of her life, she interpreted music by Bach, Beethoven and the other greats of European classical composition. But she also was a part of the vital new music being created in the town she called home. She performed on some of Elvis Presley's essential "comeback" recordings, after his 1968 television special, and she contributed expressive strings to Isaac Hayes' Oscar-winning "Theme from Shaft."
