<\/p>\n
To begin FetterFest, the College welcomes the Brentano String Quartet (above), for a day of music and mentorship. It is one of the world\u2019s most acclaimed ensembles, whose founding violinist Serena Canin \u201988 (far right) is herself a Fetter alumna.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Swarthmore will celebrate one of its most beloved musical traditions with\u00a0FetterFest<\/a>, a two-day event during\u00a0Garnet Weekend<\/a> honoring the 50th anniversary of the\u00a0Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Chamber Music Program<\/a>. The heart of the Fetter program lies not just in the music performed, but in the deep and lasting bonds it fosters.<\/p>\n What began in 1975 as a modest scholarship fund for string quartets has blossomed into a cornerstone of the College\u2019s music program \u2014 and FetterFest promises to capture that legacy in a joyful reunion of generations of musicians, faculty, and friends.<\/p>\n FetterFest begins Friday, Oct. 24, with a nod to the program\u2019s origins: the string quartet. The College welcomes the Brentano String Quartet, one of the world\u2019s most acclaimed ensembles, whose founding violinist Serena Canin \u201988 is herself a Fetter alumna, for a day of music and mentorship.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n On Saturday, alumni spanning five decades will gather to play in small ensembles \u2014 some reuniting with their College partners after decades apart, and others meeting for the first time. Highlights include a participatory \u201cDrop-In and Sing!\u201d event and a special performance by members of the Chroma Quartet (Class of 2022) with guest violinist David Kim, concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The festivities culminate with a celebratory concert in Lang Concert Hall, featuring more than two hours of music in a wide range of styles, performed by alumni and special guests.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are so thrilled to celebrate the Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Chamber Music Program, one of the cornerstones of music making at Swarthmore for the past 50 years, and we are delighted that so many Garnet Weekend guests will be attending the events,\u201d says Andrew Hauze \u201904, senior lecturer in music, and co-coordinator of the program along with Jenny Honig.<\/p>\n The Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Chamber Music Program traces its roots to 1975, when Elizabeth Pollard Fetter, Class of 1925, created the Pollard Scholarship Funds in memory of her mother, Emilie Garrett Pollard \u201993. After Elizabeth\u2019s death in 1977, her husband Frank Whitson Fetter, Class of 1920, endowed the Elizabeth Pollard Fetter String Quartet Scholarships, supporting students eager to explore the rich world of string quartet repertoire.<\/p>\n In 2001, the program expanded and was renamed the Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Chamber Music Program, broadening its scope to support a wide range of chamber groups. Over the years, successive generations of the Fetter family \u2014 including Bob Fetter \u201953, Tom Fetter \u201956, Ellen Fetter, and Annie Fetter \u201988 \u2014 have continued to strengthen the endowment, ensuring that future Swarthmore musicians can share in the same opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cFor half a century, Swarthmore students have benefited from the generosity of the Fetter program,\u201d says Hauze, \u201cincluding weekly coaching with the best professional musicians in Philadelphia, master classes with distinguished musicians from all over the world, and rich and varied concerts at Swarthmore and beyond celebrating the joy of making music in small groups.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Many alumni credit the Fetter program with shaping their Swarthmore experiences \u2014 and in some cases, their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was where I formed lifelong friendships and grew tremendously as a musician,\u201d says Joyce Han \u201913, who met her husband through the Fetter program. \u201cMy career today isn\u2019t in music, but making music with local Swarthmore friends in Boston brings me so much joy. I\u2019m very excited to return to the stage a decade later, making music again with old friends (and for the first time with my husband on stage)!\u201d<\/p>\n For current students and recent graduates, the program continues to offer opportunities to explore their artistry in new ways. Among them is Allison Shih \u201925, who played in a flute quartet with Lauren Martindale \u201925, Kayden Bowie \u201925, and Tianlan Wen \u201926.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re happy to be able to return to celebrate the program that brought us so many fun and meaningful memories at Swarthmore,\u201d says Shih. \u201cI\u2019m especially grateful and excited for the opportunity to make music with friends again, and experience others’ musical memories through the variety of performances happening on campus!\u201d<\/p>\n For many, the program\u2019s influence extends far beyond campus. Deborah H. How \u201989, P\u201925 recalls how chamber music at Swarthmore transformed her life\u2019s path.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough I played piano and flute competitively through high school, I had never thought about being a professional musician \u2014 I arrived at Swarthmore as a potential math\/biochemistry major,\u201d says How. \u201cBut when it came time to officially declare my major, my advisor [David Rosen] in the Math Department asked, \u2018If money were no object, what would you be doing in 20 years?\u2019 Without hesitation, I answered, \u2018playing chamber music.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPlaying in small ensembles with now-lifelong friends at Swarthmore changed my career path, and I\u2019ve been a professional musician since I graduated,\u201d says How, executive director of the Westside Music Conservatory in Los Angeles, Calif.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBeing back to be a part of FetterFest is coming full circle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source daily.swarthmore.edu \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To begin FetterFest, the College welcomes the Brentano String Quartet (above), for a day of music and mentorship. It is one of the world\u2019s most acclaimed ensembles, whose founding violinist Serena Canin \u201988 (far right) is herself a Fetter alumna. Swarthmore will celebrate one of its most beloved musical traditions with\u00a0FetterFest, a two-day event during\u00a0Garnet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2105837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2105836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/FetterFest-Marks-50-Years-of-Chamber-Music-at-Swarthmore.webp.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2105836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2105836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2105836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2105838,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2105836\/revisions\/2105838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2105837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2105836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2105836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2105836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A Legacy of Generosity and Growth<\/h2>\n
Deep and Lasting Bonds<\/h2>\n