Cora Ahrens brought the gift of music to the people of Stratford and Perth County

This street was named for Cora B. Ahrens

Cora Bell Ahrens was a well-known, internationally respected Stratford music teacher, lecturer, author and pianist who was born in Stratford in 1891. Her father, Dr. Alfred Ahrens, was a noted dentist in Stratford.The building at 9-11 Market Place was built for him in 1890, and Cora gave piano lessons in another room next to her father in her early years as a music teacher in Stratford.

Cora’s mother, Isabella (Day) Ahrens, married Alfred in 1886. She too was a talented pianist and keenly interested in the development of music in Stratford. She was for many years the organist of several city churches.

Cora studied piano in Toronto. Her teachers included the famous Viggo Kihl at the Toronto Conservatory of Music. In Stratford, she played in a trio with Leon Vera and Avram Pratz, accompanying the silent movies playing at........

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