Nearly four decades ago, Glenna Hazelton stepped in when the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library in La Jolla wanted to get rid of a piano to make room for more bookshelves.
Mrs. Hazelton asked the library to give her a year to find a good use for the piano and keep it in the library. She did much more.
She helped give birth to one of San Diego's longest running musical traditions.
Mrs. Hazelton founded the free, noontime concerts of classical, jazz and world music that have been a staple of cultural life in La Jolla and downtown San Diego since the early 1970s.
The Steinway grand piano she helped save was used when the Mini-Concerts debuted at the Athenaeum, where she served on the board. It is still being used today at the program's other venue, at the Lyceum Theatre in Horton Plaza.
Mrs. Hazelton, a Mozart lover who helped run the concerts for decades, died Jan. 27 of natural causes at a La Jolla care facility. She was 91.
“She had an irrepressible spirit,” her son, Peter Nestingen, said.
“She always believed in making the best of what you had,” he added. “She was a real advocate for young people getting experience playing their music.”
Herbert G. Klein, a retired editor in chief of Copley Newspapers, credited his family's longtime friend with making a lasting contribution to the San Diego region.
“Glenna Hazelton dedicated her life to the development of new ideas promoting appreciation for classical music in San Diego,” Klein said in a statement.
Vanya Russell, another friend, said Mrs. Hazelton goal for the Mini-Concerts was to provide free classical music to young people as well as allow them to play.
Judith Oishei, music director at the Athenaeum, said many young musicians begin their careers playing at the concerts.
Mrs. Hazelton was born Glenna Jean Ames on May 24, 1915, in Weaver, Minn., and earned a teaching credential at Winona State Teachers College.
While in college she met her future husband, Irvin Nestingen, who went on to become a research engineer at Convair in San Diego. Mr. Nestingen died in a plane crash in 1962. In 1966, Mrs. Hazelton married furniture store owner Donald Hazelton, who died in 1978.
Mrs. Hazelton and a group of Athenaeum volunteers founded the Mini-Concerts program in 1970. The program was expanded to the Lyceum Theatre in 1973. The noon concerts run on alternating Mondays at each location from January to mid-May.
Mrs. Hazelton was also involved in starting La Jolla Concerts by the Sea at La Jolla Cove. She served on the boards of the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus, the Metropolitan Opera/San Diego District Auditions and the scholarship board of the San Diego branch of the English-Speaking Union.
She was honored three times by the San Diego Performing Arts League STAR Awards. She was also an active leader in the La Jolla Lamplighter organization.
In addition to her son, survivors include daughters Pamela Adams and Barbara Mikolich, stepdaughter Gay Hazelton and eight grandchildren.
A memorial service and graveside funeral will be held in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Athenaeum in her name.
Leonel Sanchez: (619) 542-4568; leonel.sanchez@uniontrib.com
