Faces of Philanthropy
Carolyn Finlay remembers her son Eric's first cello lesson
vividly. His teacher, Catherine Carmack, offered to show the
five-year-old a new way to slice an apple. She bisected the fruit
sideways through its equator, and held up one white-fleshed half
with a five-seeded star clearly visible at its centre. "She said,
'ere's a star inside all of us. at's what you do when you play
the cello; you're learning how to find your star,'" recalls Finlay.
Carmack had captivated not only her young son, but his
mother as well. An accomplished pianist herself, Finlay had never
heard a teacher explain so explicitly how to play from the heart.
"It was remarkable. No one had ever taught me music like that
before," says Finlay. "ere's a star in you and you can express it!"
Over the next 10 years, Finlay took over piano accompani-
ment for all of Carmack's students' recitals and exams. She would
p a g e 2 2 I V a n c o u v e r F o u n d a t i o n l F a l l 2 0 1 5
Friends
continue
a cello
teacher's
dream
of giving
everyone
a chance
to play
By Wendy Goldsmith
Strings
Attached
