Beth Palmer, Fairfield University’s Glee Club Pianist has been with the Glee Club for forty years. Since 2008 she has been continuously playing for the University’s oldest standing club. How could one stay playing for the same club for so long, when they could go on to something else?
“I love you crazy people, and I like ensemble work, I could be doing solo but I like ensemble, it’s just working together to make music happen, that’s what I like about it,” the pianist states.
Beth has been playing for the university for forty years, but she has been playing since she could start hitting the keys at six years old. “I just love the whole experience when you touch the keys and the ability to make beautiful sounds once you know what you’re doing and the solitude of it,” Beth explains.
Originally, Beth played for the masses in Fairfield’s Egan Chapel. “I just got married and my piano had not arrived, and the campus ministry said ‘you can use our piano any time you want, but do you mind playing for some masses?’ and so I did, and a strange woman came in and said, ‘I want you to play for us’ and it was Carol Ann,” the music enthusiast remembers.
Carol Ann was Fairfield University’s Glee Club’s original director, retiring last year. “I helped with the women’s choir, and then eventually played for Chambers and Glee!”
Beth is a Glee icon, and many Glee students look up to her and her kindness. She always is at rehearsal with a smile, encourages students to try their best, gives students hugs and advice when they need it and provides Glee with a beautiful sound. She also always makes sure students have eaten, drank water and are being safe on trips. When asked the question, ‘Is there something you will miss about Glee?’ Palmer got teary-eyed and asked, “Do I have to answer?” But she answered, stating, “I’ll miss the camaraderie, I’ll miss all the useful crazy energy, and I will miss working with a collegiate choir. I love making music happen. It’s a wonderful life.”
With still a whole semester left with Glee Club, Beth is sure to give more advice and helpful words to those who need it. But for those who are aspiring pianists or musicians and not in Glee, Beth leaves these words of wisdom. “Stick with what you are doing and don’t give up. There are going to be dark days where you shake your head and say ‘why am I doing this’ and to walk away from your gift is hard, but it’s harder to get back.”
Fairfield University Glee Club will celebrate Beth in every moment they can, from on a bus back from Washington D.C., to her last concert with Glee. From the students in Glee, “We love you, Beth!”
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