Westmont Magazine Making Music in Bulgaria

Sarah Shasberger Pfister ’12 has a passion for teaching music. As a violin and viola performance major at Westmont, she taught young students even during her college years. After earning a master’s degree in viola performance (focusing on violin Suzuki pedagogy) from the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, she spent three years teaching at the Greenwich Suzuki Academy.

Then she met her husband, bassoonist Kevin Pfister. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Kevin played professionally in Sarajevo for a year after finishing his master’s degree at Northwestern. Inspired by this experience, he developed a vision for vocational ministry as a musician overseas. Sarah, who had expected to spend her career teaching, chose to embrace this calling. The couple began looking for music jobs in Europe and found openings for both bassoon and viola in Bulgaria with the Ruse State Opera Orchestra. First Kevin, then Sarah, applied, and both were accepted. They also began the process of serving with Operation Mobilization through the Marketplace Workers Program.

For two years, Sarah and Kevin have lived in Ruse, performing extensively with the orchestra, studying the Bulgarian language and making connections. “People are wary of foreigners, so we’re moving slowly to get to know them and earn their respect and trust,” Sarah says. They live off their Bulgarian salary, which helps them understand the difficulties of daily life there.

Traditionally an Orthodox country, Bulgaria experienced a Protestant revival in the early 1900s. But during the 43 years of communist rule, most Protestant churches closed, and relatively few missionaries showed up after the demise of Communism. The oppression of corruption now afflicts Bulgaria, the poorest country in the European Union.

“Ruse has a strong music tradition and background, but with the socioeconomic situation, few young people seek careers as musicians,” Sarah says. “The fine music school here is much smaller than it once was, and we would love to see it grow once again.”

Sarah has started teaching and offers a growing baby program introducing parents, infants and toddlers to both Bulgarian and English songs. The couple also hopes to create new worship songs drawn from Bulgarian folk music to augment the translated English hymns sung in church. “We’d love to help rejuvenate interest in music here,” she says.

Isaac Kay ’16 felt discouraged when professional auditions failed to yield a job playing violin. One day, Sarah Pfister called about an opening with the Ruse State Opera Orchestra. He didn’t want to live in Eastern Europe but realized he should send a tape, which he made that night. “What am I doing?” he asked himself. “This is crazy. Why should I uproot my life and move to Bulgaria?”

The orchestra gave him a contract, and he starts as the concertmaster at the end of January. “I felt a settled peace about it,” he says. He completed a fellowship in orchestral leadership with the Aspen Festival during the summer before embarking on a gig with a piano quintet on a cruise ship through January. “It all fell in line perfectly,” he says.

Isaac grew up in a musical family in Cleveland, the sixth of 14 children. He devoted himself to the violin, practicing six hours a day. At a summer music festival, he met Rebecca Shasberger ’15, whose father, Michael, directs the Westmont Orchestra and College Choir. Isaac knew he wanted a broader education than a music conservatory offered. Shasberger called and urged him to apply to Westmont. “He doesn’t know the word ‘no,’” Isaac says. He had a visceral reaction when he visited. “I was so taken by the community. Everyone was so kind and loving and interesting and smart. A remarkable financial aid package made Westmont my most affordable option.

“I wanted to pursue music at a high level and not sacrifice my intellect,” he says. “To incorporate art in the world, you need to know and understand how the world works. I had lots of interactions with other disciplines. I loved Westmont with every fiber of my being and made incredible friends. My most memorable classes were in religious studies; I’d never talked about faith on such an intellectual level.”

After Westmont, Isaac earned a master’s degree in violin performance at the University of Denver and completed a post-graduate certificate in orchestral studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. For four years, he has played a 1765 German violin on loan from Westmont neighbors Stefan and Christine Riesenfeld. “It’s an incredible instrument, and they’ve become like family to me,” he says.

Rigorous classes at Westmont helped Isaac hone his presentation and performance skills. “I feel prepared for leadership and addressing important issues as concertmaster,” he says.