Martha Christine Maas

Martha Christine Maas, 91, passed away at her home in Clintonville, Columbus, Ohio, on January 7, 2026. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, she was predeceased by her father Arthur G. Maas, her mother Lillie Mae Corn Maas, and her sister Elizabeth Ann and her family. She is survived by her long-time partner, Estelle Silberman, as well as by many colleagues, friends, and neighbors.

Martha was a retired faculty member of The Ohio State University, where she was an associate professor of musicology. She earned her bachelor's degree in music from Millikin University, furthered her studies at the University of Michigan, and earned her Ph.D. in music history from Yale University in 1968. Her dissertation was titled

"Keyboard Solos in English Manuscripts, c. 1600-1650."

Martha taught at Wellesley College before joining the music faculty at Ohio State, where she taught for more than three decades. Her scholarly focus included the study of ancient instruments and music history. She co-authored, with Jane McIntosh Snyder, Stringed Instruments of Ancient Greece, published by Yale University Press, a definitive work on the lyre and kithara. It won the Nicholas Bessaraboff Prize of the American Musical Instrument Society in 1991. She was an active member of the American Musicological Society, and she published articles on ancient Greek music in periodicals such as the Galpin Society Journal and the Journal of Musicology.

In addition to teaching, Martha was involved in the OSU Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. She also directed the Collegium Musicum in the OSU School of Music, which gave performances of medieval and Renaissance music.

In her later years, Martha was affiliated with the North Columbus Friends Meeting (Quaker), for which she regularly wrote its newsletter.

Contributions in Martha's memory may be made to the North Columbus Friends Meeting, the Buckeye Ranch psychiatric treatment facility, or the charity of your choice.