By PERRY LYNN MOFFITT
A home with wall-to-wall instruments might not have been uncommon in the Bach family; however, while Ann D. Fleck’s house is not exactly carpeted by her thirty-seven instruments, this copious collection lines the baseboards of her home at 100 Cottage Street in Norwood.
These tuneful thirty-seven, which include a representative from each of the members of the instrument family (stringed, woodwind, brass, and percussion) range In size from marimba to oboe, each being capable of tooting, blowing, banging, dinging, or bowing by Mrs. Fleck herself.
A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, Mrs. Fleck, a music education major, has served in the Brookline public elementary schools as Music Specialist since 1957. Mrs. Fleck has also been Music Supervisor In Litchfield, Conn.
Although they commenced studies at the Conservatory together, Mrs. Fleck and her husband Raymond did not graduate in the same year.
“Uncle Sam interrupted Ray’s education for three years,” explained Mrs. Fleck, “but two days after he was dismissed from the service he was back in school to finish.” (Mr. Fleck now teaches music in the Norwood schools).
When the Flecks were united in holy matrimony, this act did not merely bind two lives together, but also pooled the couple’s instrumental resources to give them a grand total of a dozen or more instruments.
Ann Fleck’s life and background is a medley of musical modulations from one generation to the other.
“We have a mess of noise makers on all sides of the family, going back to a drummer boy in the Civil War,” she said.
Mrs. Fleck’s mother, also a New England Conservatory graduate and an opera singer, had introduced her daughter to the piano, but little Ann only wanted to play the drum. “The drum was my first love,” admits Mrs. Fleck.
Outside musical activities for our female “Jack of all instruments” include a membership as a percussionist in the Wellesley Community Orchestra, musician in the Conductor’s Forum Band, and Director of Music for the First Baptist Church of Norwood. One of Mrs. Fleck’s major ambitions is to found a good youth band someday.
“Lugging heavy instruments” is Mrs. Fleck’s, worst hardship as a musician; however, she may be seen toting immense stamp albums about Boston in order that she may increase her already vast collection.
The collecting of coins, refinishing of antiques, and wood working are three other hobbies occupying Mrs. Fleck’s spare time.
The Fleck family’s love for travel was to take them on a journey to the west coast at the end of last month. When asked if she intended to trammel herself down with instruments on the trip, Mrs. Fleck stated, “We usually put up a sign ‘Have instruments—will travel’, but there is no room this time. In fact, we’ll “need another Ford bus just to take the maps along.”
In the family are Bill, age twelve, who performs on the latest addition to the collection, a bassoon, as well as playing the piano and clarinet, and Carol, nine, who is busy attempting to master the violin and piano. Neither of the children at the moment has any Intention of making music a career.
Musical Cat
Besides the human quartet, the family possesses a musically inclined cat named Elisabeth. “Elisabeth did a beautiful job on the piano at midnight the other night,” said the cat’s mistress. Elisabeth’s unique musicianship dwells in the fact that she delicately plays one key at a time with her cushioned paws, creating a rather melodious composition—for a cat that is.
After having listened to a recording of Campoli playing Paganini’s First Concerto for Violin, Opus Six, Mrs. Fleck left the room for several seconds, and returned hauling a scotch plaid carry-all.
“This is my bag of tricks,” she explained. Mrs. Fleck uses it in a demonstration for ele-mentary school children.
Rolling up her .sleeves and bending over, Mrs. Fleck began to unload the following: dozens of drum sticks and tympani mallets, Chinese wood blocks, her husband’s T-shirt, rosewood sticks, a slap stiek with a spring used In the “Mosquito Dance,” a fife, castanets, fastened to a stick, maracas, triangles of various sizes, drum keys, more drum sticks, sleigh bells, safety pins, plus whistles that sound like blowing one’s nose, a baby’s cry, a hen, a bobwhite call, and by filling one whistle vith water, a nightingale’s warbling song is produced, thus’ completing this musical menagerie. Halfway through the demonstration Mrs. Fleck usually discovers her lunch mashed among these oddities.
Only The Beginning
Catching her breath, Mrs. Fleck then stated with vigor, “You should see the other bag—this is only the beginning!”
(All articles originally appeared in the Norwood Messenger unless otherwise noted)