By Amber Angove-For the North Star Reporter
For many years, Lynda Fish has welcomed students to her piano studio through Keyboards for Kids in North Attleborough, with a lesson plan and a willingness to meet each student where they were.
Now, following the announcement of her retirement after 48 years of teaching, Fish’s former students look back on a career defined not only by music, but by encouragement, creativity and the relationships she fostered with the young people she taught.
Nakshatra Arun studied with Fish for roughly 10 years, beginning in second grade. Arun remembers those years as both challenging and rewarding, in large part because of the way Fish approached teaching.
“While learning how to play an instrument or read music can be difficult, she made it engaging and achievable with her creative activities,” Arun said. “But when we became skilled enough to make our own choices about what music to play, she gave us that autonomy too.”
For many of Fish’s former students, learning to play was about more than mastering scales, reading music or preparing for a recital. It was about gaining confidence, discovering a love of music and having a teacher who took an interest in who they were beyond the piano bench.
“I also loved her effort to get to know us and be a part of our lives, whether that be hosting arts and crafts workshops for us or coming to our other events, like a band concert,” Arun said. “After 10 years of learning from her, I’m grateful for how she made every student feel supported, valued and excited to keep growing as a pianist.”
For Fish, those relationships were one of the reasons she stayed in teaching for nearly five decades. She began teaching piano and accordion at the DaVinci Center in Providence in 1978 and went on to teach in a variety of settings, including schools, art classes, recorder camps, keyboard groups and private lessons.
“I loved music and loved working with children, and I discovered that helping a child make progress at the piano was incredibly rewarding,” Fish said.
Fish often began working with students when they were young and continued teaching them through high school.
“I enjoyed watching students gain confidence, discover music they enjoyed and accomplish things they didn’t think they could do,” she said.
For former student Garrett Young, that encouragement helped foster something that lasted beyond formal lessons — a genuine enjoyment of music.
“I still love to sit down and play, not in a pursuit of perfection, but just for the fun of it,” Young said, “She [Fish] always puts forward a level of care and dedication that I don’t see from many people.”
That dedication was particularly evident in the Keys! Music Challenge, a festival and competition Fish created in 2014 for keyboard students ages 5 to 18. The event gave students an opportunity to perform for judges and receive feedback in a supportive environment.
“The amount of effort that went into the Music Challenge, purely to get students an opportunity to perform in front of judges, to get them that experience, was incredible,” Young said.
Anita DeLuca mentioned that the Keys! Music Challenge was an important part of Fish’s work with students.
“It was a great experience for the children…” DeLuca said.
DeLuca first met Fish when she needed an accordionist for her master’s recital program. Fish came recommended as a top-notch performer, but DeLuca said it was Fish’s personality that quickly turned a professional relationship into a friendship.
“Lynda always had a kind and gentle way with her private students,” DeLuca said.
Fish’s own musical life extended beyond her teaching. DeLuca noted that Fish continues to perform, including with a German band in the fall — another example of the fact that music has never simply been Fish’s profession, but a lasting part of her life. Her retirement marks the end of one chapter, but not necessarily the end of the influence she has had on her students.
Fish’s advice to her former students — and to musicians of any age — is simple.
“Practice, practice, practice! Keep making music,” Fish said. “Don’t get so caught up in being perfect that you forget why you started playing in the first place.”
She encourages musicians to play with other people, try different kinds of music, learn a new instrument and not be afraid to change directions as they grow.