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SEÁN MATTHEW DEIBLER
IN MEMORIAM
A native of
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Seán Matthew Deibler received his
degree in clarinet and voice from Susquehanna University in
1969. After graduating, he was hired by The Haverford School, a
private K-12 boys’ school just outside Philadelphia, and was
given charge of the Lower School (K-6) music program. During
that summer he attended a seminar at the Dana School of Music in
Wellesley, MA which introduced him to the Kodály concept of
music education. Seán was completely inspired by the course and
over the next five years completely rebuilt Haverford’s Lower
School music program.
In 1970 the
Kodály Musical Training Institute opened its doors; and instead
of holding its own summer course, encouraged all interested
parties to attend the first international Kodály Seminárium in
Kecskemét, Hungary. Seán attended and received much acclaim from
the faculty. He returned to summer courses in the US and Hungary
and in 1973 joined the faculty of the Kodály Music Training
Institute teaching solfège, voice and chamber music at its
summer course on the campus of Wellesley College. He remained on
KMTI’s faculty and later that of the Kodály Center of America
for many years.
By the summer
of 1974, Seán’s work at Haverford had grown and blossomed. The
“petals,” so to speak, included a nationally known boy choir
that included students from all grades (even a Junior!) with
unchanged voices. Every student in the Lower School had music
twice a week and a pilot class was formed that had Music as a
core subject, meeting every day. Seán was rightly proud of his
accomplishments and had shared his wisdom and work with hundreds
of summer course students, but he felt a strong urge to improve
his own skills and to reach higher levels of musicianship and
performance.
In the spring
of 1974, he was accepted by the Liszt Ferenc Académia in
Budapest and began studies in September. In spite of the added
hurdles of the Hungarian language and cramming five years of
study into one, Seán earned the Liszt Academy diploma in
conducting, chamber music, clarinet and voice. In addition he
toured Europe with pianist Katalin Komlós as both clarinet and
baritone soloist.
In 1975, he
returned to the US and continued his work at Haverford. By 1984
The Haverford School Boychoir was internationally known for its
performance of the most challenging literature for treble voices
including opera. The Kodály-inspired music program at Haverford
had grown to encompass grades K-12. Seán had been made head of
the music department and had played a major roll in the design
of a state-of -the-art performing and visual arts center on
Haverford’s campus. It boasted a six hundred seat opera
house/theater/auditorium, facilities for classroom, choral and
instrumental teaching/rehearsal and practice rooms, as well as
dedicated facilities for the teaching and display of visual
arts. To this day it rates among the finest performance venues
in the Greater Philadelphia region.
In 1978, Seán ,
with colleague Bill Gatti, established The Music Group of
Philadelphia. The ensemble rapidly became a strong and
influential presence among Philadelphia’s many choral ensembles.
It has commissioned many new works and introduced many beautiful
and important seldom performed works, particularly from Eastern
Europe, to American audiences. In addition to regular season in
the Philadelphia area, the Music Group has also performed in New
York, Allentown, PA and, in 1989 made a triumphal tour of
Central Europe, including several performances in Hungary.
In 1982, Seán was named founding
artistic director of the 180-voice Choral Arts Society of
Philadelphia, which focused on symphonic choral literature, and
became a frequent guest
ensemble with the Philadelphia Orchestra. This led to three
compact discs in which the Philadelphia Orchestra collaborated
with the Choral Arts Society under conductors Riccardo Muti and
Charles Dutoit and with mezzo soprano Jessye Norman.
Throughout his
professional life Seán maintained a highly successful reputation
as a guest conductor of orchestras, choruses and opera as well
as performing as a clarinet and baritone soloist in North
America, Europe and Australia. In the summer 1986 he made his
London debut at Royal Festival Hall, as well as his Warsaw and
Berlin debuts with Choral Arts and the Warsaw Symphony
conducting Vaughan Williams' Symphony No.1. He remained active
and in demand in these activities well into the new century.
In March 1998,
Seán received the Medal Pro Artibus, Artist of Outstanding Merit
for Promotion of Diversified Hungarian Music Abroad, by the
Ministry of Cultural Arts of the Republic of Hungary and the
Board of Artisjus. He served for more than a decade as both
conductor and jurist for the VIVACE International Choral
Festival in Veszprém, Hungary. On his 10th
anniversary as a conductor in residence he was awarded that
city’s Gold Medal of Honor. In 2001 he received an Honorary
Doctorate of Fine Arts from Susquehanna University. In 2008, on
the 30th anniversary of The Music Group of Philadelphia, both he
and the chorus were recognized by the Mayor Nutter for their
outstanding contributions to the musical life of Philadelphia.
Perhaps the most
remarkable achievement among these many successes is the many
hearts and spirits Seán touched, nurtured and inspired. As so
many have acknowledged, he had a life changing influence on all
he encountered through his consummate musicianship, love of
people and his passion for life and friendship. In yet another
of his many talents, composition, you will hear today much of
the same spiritual encouragement that he lavished on those who
would listen, sing and play.
Today, we
celebrate the life of Seán Matthew Deibler: a life lived to the
fullest, one dedicated to spirituality and to the great healing,
uplifting and aesthetic power of music.
Requiescat in
pace!
From the program
from the Memorial Celebration held on October 24, 2009.
The Music Group of Philadelphia
P.O.Box 30243
Philadelphia, PA 19103-0243
215-587-0291
E-mail: mail@musicgroupofphila.org
©2009 The Music Group of Philadelphia: Last
revised
April 20, 2010
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