July
2008 | by the
Schneiderman
family
 Barbara
Schneiderman,
pianist, and
nationally acclaimed
author, lecturer
and teacher
who brought
music into the
lives of hundreds
of grateful
young students
and their families
died June 14
at her home
in Del Mar.
She was 73.
The cause of
death was pancreatic
cancer.
Barbara
Schneiderman's
public recognition
as a pianist
began when she
performed on
the radio at
age 11. An admiring
listener recommended
her to Sydney
Foster, the
first of several
renowned teachers,
including Walter
Piston, Horazio
Frugoni and
Aube Tzerko.
She acquired
degrees from
Harvard, the
Royal Academy
in London, and
UCSD, and enjoyed
a long career
of amateur and
professional
chamber-music
recitals. Also,
while in college
she was the
pianist for
the Radcliffe
Choral Society.
Her
teaching
career began
in the living
room of her
married-student
apartment
at Harvard
with an original
concept,
a “Musical
Nursery” for
the children
of graduate
students. She
introduced
musical concepts
in a playful
atmosphere.
From there she
progressed
to providing
private lessons
to award-winning
students of
all ages in
both the Suzuki
and traditional
system. In
the last several
decades her
master classes
were in great
demand around
the country.
As
a Suzuki
Association
of America
Teacher Trainer,
she lectured
and wrote
numerous articles
on a wide
range of musical
topics at
national and
international
conferences.
She served
on the Suzuki
Association
Piano Committee
and was a
regular piano
columnist
for the American
Suzuki Journal.
She also
taught courses
on performance
at UCSD and
served as
an invited
Visiting Artist
in other academic
settings.
As a certified
Suzuki Teacher
Trainer,
Barbara trained
her daughter,
Tanya, to
teach the
Suzuki Method
and together
they shared
a studio,
teaching students
of all ages
in what Barbara
called "a
one-room
schoolhouse."
Her
book, Confident
Music Performance:
The Art of Preparing ,
is considered
a classic in
the field, praised
for its value
and comprehensiveness
by professional
musicians, psychologists,
and neurologists,
including Oliver
Sacks.
When
Barbara moved
to Del Mar
in 1970, she
soon became
involved in
political
activism at
the national
and local
level. During
the Vietnam
War era,
she engaged
in organized
non-violent
efforts to
protest and
end the war.
On the local
level, she
originated
and oversaw
popular gatherings
called “Evenings
in the Neighborhood. ” These
provided stimulating
occasions in
Del Mar homes
ranging from
Greek poetry
to controversial
topics led
by local experts
to entertaining
folk song fests.
She was also
an early participant
in developing
and supporting
the Del Mar
Community Plan.
Barbara
Schneiderman
was born in
Perth Amboy,
New Jersey,
in 1935, where
she also had
a remarkable
career. She
was valedictorian,
class president
and head cheerleader
at Perth Amboy
High School.
From there
she went to
Radcliffe College
(at that time
the woman's
college affiliated
with Harvard)
where she met
her husband,
Larry, then
a student at
Harvard Medical
School and
now an emeritus
professor at
UCSD School
of Medicine.
She is survived
by four children,
Rob who resides
in New York,
Claudia in
Pacific Palisades,
Heidi in Niagara,
Ontario Canada,
and Tanya in
Del Mar; and
four grandchildren;
and
sister
Anita
Hannoch
of
Livingston,
New
Jersey.
© 2007-08
Del Mar
Community
Alliance,
Inc. All
rights reserved. |
