* Edwin Gerschefski; Composer Taught at University of Georgia

Edwin Gerschefski, 83, a pianist and composer who found inspiration in news articles. Gerschefski was head of the University of Georgia music department from 1959 to 1972 and remained on the faculty until he retired in 1976. He set the words of articles in Time magazine to music and turned business letters and editorials into lyrics. A piece he composed for the nation’s bicentennial, “Two Hundred Years,” was premiered in June, 1975, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In Athens, Ga., on Dec. 17 of unreported causes.