Giving

Gail wanted to be in her high school band and the oboe seemed as good a choice as any. She brought home a borrowed instrument to try it out and shared what she had learned with her younger sister, Bonnie. To Gail’s surprise, Bonnie was a natural at this difficult and finicky woodwind, producing a beautifully in-tune note, “a perfect A-440” in Gail’s recollection.

“Bonnie instantly developed a real passion for it,” explains Gail. “Not to mention she had found something she could do better than her big sister!”

Both sisters had been influenced by their mother, Myrna Samuel Levine, hearing her sing around their Brooklyn home in Crown Heights, preparing Gilbert & Sullivan operetta roles. (Interestingly, Myrna had a late career blossom at age 70, appearing in a Francis Ford Coppola film, landing speaking roles on the television serial “All My Children,” and headlining in nightclubs.)

She had encouraged them with piano lessons, and when Bonnie showed such promise on the oboe, her mother sought out one of the best in the business: Albert Goltzer, co-principal oboist in the New York Philharmonic. Goltzer, also a member of the Manhattan School of Music faculty, was so impressed by this youngster’s natural talent, that she was offered a scholarship in 1963 and was soon making the weekly trek to the school, then located in East Harlem.

“Mom used savings from her interior decorating business to purchase Bonnie a Lorée oboe, made in Paris,” remembers Gail. “We were all so proud the first time Bonnie got to perform in a full symphony orchestra, conducted by Rachmael Weinstock, with her fellow students in the MSM Preparatory Division (which is what they called the Precollege back then).”

Bonnie’s experiences at MSM were profound and she was soon dedicated to becoming a performer, almost single-mindedly. Immediately after high school, she set out on her musical quest to become a professional, eschewing a conservatory education in lieu of learning in the real world.

“I tried to get her to obtain some sort of teaching credentials as a backup plan, but she would have none of it,” remarks Gail.

Bonnie went on to have a brief yet remarkable performance career as an oboist with national and international orchestras, as well as chamber music groups. She participated in the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado and the Amalfi Music Festival in Italy. She was engaged by the Virginia State Symphony Orchestra for an extended 14-state tour of the United States. Her varied New York City credits even included appearances with The Balalaika Orchestra.

Gail Levine-Fried, Myrna Levine, and Bonnie Levine in 1991 at Gail's wedding to Dr. Robert M. Fried.

While following the tune in her own heart, Bonnie did end up teaching as her sister predicted: instructing children to play the recorder at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood Settlement House and later conducting music programs at several community centers in the City.

Meanwhile, Gail was following her own advice, pursuing advanced degrees at New York University in Sociology and Recreation Therapy. Music had an important role in her life as well, as she used singing to promote speech and language development and to stimulate social interaction among youngsters, teens and adults with developmental disabilities.

She later incorporated sound vibration using Tibetan crystal bowls to facilitate meditation and states of deep relaxation in her work for the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia-Presbyterian and as a certified yoga instructor. Gail’s focus was on how we can use music and sound vibration to bring about beneficial health outcomes.

Bonnie eventually grew tired of the demands of making a living as a freelance musician, work that is intermittent and financially unpredictable, and she traded her reed-making time for steadier employment.

“Imagine what she could have accomplished with the help of an artist manager!” exclaims Gail. “Still, all in all, she was tremendously successful in what she set out to do.”

Sadly, Bonnie passed from a sudden brain aneurysm in 1999.

Gail—having now retired from her full-time academic position at City University’s Kingsborough Community College—has examined options for the appropriate way to honor Bonnie’s life.

“I looked at other schools and arts organizations,” states Gail. “But I kept coming back to the influence of MSM and the memory of all those Saturday mornings, how excited she was to study there. I know it was her early experience attending the School that gave her the self-confidence to pursue her dream.”

“We were kids from a lower-middle class family,” adds Gail. “By establishing a scholarship in Bonnie’s name, I hope to honor her legacy and to make it possible for another young person in similar circumstances to experience the joy and inspiration that touched Bonnie. I look forward to witnessing the fruits of this endeavor first-hand by seeing a recipient of the award perform at MSM.”

Little did Gail realize decades ago that her introduction of the oboe to Bonnie would so influence the course of her life and subsequently impact the lives of yet-unknown young people. In addition to her current annual gifts to fund a scholarship, Gail has also made a generous planned gift to establish an endowed award, joining like-minded donors in the School’s Galaxy Society.

Create your own legacy at Manhattan School of Music by including a gift designation in your will or other estate plan. Contact Susan Madden at 917-493-4115 or smadden@msmnyc.edu to learn more about how to create a legacy that meets your financial needs and charitable goals.