Violist, music educator from South Bend comes home to judge at Fischoff's 50th anniversary
Mother’s Day weekend will be busy for Rebecca Henry.
Coming back to South Bend is always great for her. There is family time and seeing familiar sites. She grew up here, graduated from Adams High School and went on to Indiana University Bloomington. She has a bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s in performance in viola.
She says she is a Hoosier and a fan of her hometown.
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In addition to seeing Mom and Dad, this Mother’s Day weekend visit will include amazing music. Rebecca is one of the jurors for the junior string division for the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition at the University of Notre Dame.
Junior division members are 18 and younger.
Founded in 1973, the Fischoff has grown to become the largest chamber music competition in the world and one of the most prestigious classical music prizes. Joseph E. Fischoff and members of the South Bend Chamber Music Society presented the idea of a competition to encourage young musicians. Six ensembles participated that first year.
This is the 50th anniversary of the competition. The weekend starts off with the “Lift Every Voice Concert” at 7 p.m. Thursday at IU South Bend's Northside Hall. The concert profiles Black, Hispanic and women composers.
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The competition will be Friday through Sunday at Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and O’Neill Hall of Music (on the south end of Notre Dame Stadium). Saturday and Sunday performances will be live streamed at www.fischoff.org.
A career in music
Back to Rebecca. She teaches string pedagogy at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, training and mentoring young teachers, and as chair, she developed the preparatory string department into a noted pre-college string program. She has been at the Peabody for 35 years.
She has a considerable background in teaching and mentoring. In 2007, she received funding from the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation to develop Peabody’s pre-conservatory violin program, which she directs. This group of eight serious violinists rehearse, perform, develop, explore and travel together.
In the summers, Rebecca co-directs the violin practice lab in Rockville, Md., and is on the faculty at the IU Teachers Retreat for professional violinists and violists and at the Heifetz International Music Festival, Staunton, Va.
Keeping busy, she also performs with the Washington Chamber Orchestra and with faculty chamber ensembles. She has also performed in summer chamber music festivals at Indiana University and in California, New Hampshire, Mexico and Switzerland. Teaching and performing are both equally important to her. “I need to do both, as they feed each other and the balance shifts over time,” she said.
This is her first time as a juror at the Fischoff. However, she performed with a string quartet in the first few years of the competition. She also chaperoned performers from the Peabody who were in the competition.
Rebecca got her start in music from her parents, Eugene and Alice Henry. “Both love music. We often went to the symphony, museums and plays. They loved opera, and we listened on Sunday afternoons. They both played the piano. My father played trombone and grew up with swing band music. He still plays.”
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The six Henry children were encouraged to learn how to play something. “We each took two years of piano, and then we could choose another instrument. I’m the only one to do this professionally.”
Rebecca said there were many opportunities to study and perform from the high school orchestra, the IUSB Philharmonic, the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and the South Bend Youth Symphony. She was encouraged by Rocco Germano, who was one of the founders and the conductor of the youth symphony.
Rebecca also took piano lessons from Dorothy Feiwell, and violin and viola lessons from Dolores Wilson and Karl Greenshield. “There are many opportunities here to perform,” she said.
As for the upcoming Fischoff competition, it is exciting to hear the groups, she said. “They are playing at an incredibly high level. We are looking for a special chemistry. We listen critically. The artists will be in the zone together.”
More on Fischoff at 50
Scott Campbell is a teacher at heart. A university setting fits him well. He is the executive director of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association. He began in the role in October just as the association was entering into its 50th season.
He replaced Kara Kane, who became the education director.
Scott said when the position opened, the Fischoff board approached him. There was interest on both sides. After a dozen or so interviews, it was offered. It was a good fit for him. “Being back on a campus is great, the campus culture. And it is Notre Dame.”
Scott is originally from Oregon. Most recently, he worked at Conn-Selmer, where he served as director of woodwind product management.
Before that, he had been a Conn-Selmer artist as a saxophone player in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He also has been an adjunct professor of music with Southwestern Adventist University (Keene, Texas) and Mountain View College (Dallas) and maintained a private saxophone studio with more than 80 students in Texas.
As a teacher, Scott said, he knows the importance of the education aspect of the Fischoff year around. “The competition is the crown jewel, but the educational initiatives continue throughout the year.”
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More than 5,000 students from area schools will meet Fischoff musicians, see performances and take field trips. For example, on Friday ,15 ensembles will visit 14 schools in St. Joseph, Elkhart and Berrien counties. About 1,000 children will have a musical experience in 24 hours, according to Kara.
Senior division ensembles will perform during the competition weekend around the town in small spaces. Some are surprise events.
During the school year, the Fischoff groups will visit elementary and high schools. The younger children will experience the link between music and reading. Musicians explain their instruments and the road to becoming a musician. High schools and middle schools will have workshops and side-by-side performance opportunities. For the summer, a music camp opens more doors. Concerts in the fall keep the door open.
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Scott said the community collaborations, such as with 100 Black Men of Greater South Bend, the YWCA and St. Margaret’s House, are expanding the outreach. “Music feeds the spirit and that needs to be shared.”
Kara said the education aspect has long been a pillar of the Fischoff competition. “We are standing on the shoulders of Ann Devine (former director) who started laying the groundwork in 1995 for programming.”
A beautiful musical weekend is on the horizon.
You can reach Kathy at kfborlik@yahoo.com
The 50th annual Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition
Thursday
● "Lift Every Voice Concert": 7 p.m. at IU South Bend's Northside Hall
Friday
● Junior Division Quarter Finals: 8:20 a.m. to 8:20 p.m. in Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
● Senior Division Quarter Finals: 9 a.m.to 8 p.m. in Notre Dame's O’Neill Hall of Music
Saturday
● Senior Division Semifinals: 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
● Junior Division Semifinals: 1:40 to 7:25 p.m.
Sunday
● Finals: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
● Awards: 3:30 to 4 p.m.
● Gold Medal Concert: 4 to 5:30 p.m.
All Saturday and Sunday events held in DeBartolo
All events are free and open to the public.
Saturday and Sunday performances will be livestreamed at www.fischoff.org.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend's Fischoff chamber music competition turns 50
