Robert "Bob" W. Fairclough Music Scholarship

My name is S. Shade Zajac, and I am the Music Director, Conductor and Founder of the Seneca Summer Music Festival and Seneca Summer Music Festival Orchestra. I am also the conductor of several other Orchestras throughout New York. I started this Festival and Orchestra in 2015 with the goal of bringing classical music to my hometown of Ovid, NY, in the Finger Lakes, a beautiful rural community that would not otherwise have this kind of exposure. My other purpose was to raise money for charity and other causes. Over the years, we have given concerts to benefit organizations such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as well as assisting people in the community going through hardships of one form or another. All in all, it has become a very special project not only for myself and the musicians who make up the Orchestra, but for the community as well. June 18th will mark the beginning of the 2022 Season as well as the first time we have had a concert since 2019 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Unfortunately, amidst all of the excitement of returning, my family and I have been facing the decline of my grandfather Robert “Bob” Fairclough. Bob (as everyone calls him), has been a driving force in my musical career. As a child, he would drive me to all of my cello lessons and orchestra rehearsals; he would sit and help me practice (a task that would often lead to, shall we say, robust musical discussions). He would take me to concerts, buy me scores (after conveniently forgetting my wallet), and be a constant presence at almost every performance I had. Whether I was playing for two hours or less than two minutes, he would want to be there. It is safe to say that I would not be enjoying the success that I have if it were not for the overwhelming support I have always received from my entire family, but it surely would have been utterly impossible without Bob. So as I was thinking about what this first concert should raise money for, I took a trip to see Bob at the nursing and rehab facility he is now in. Though extremely weak, even to the point of struggling to talk, he still made a point to ask me about my orchestras and my music. As I drove home, I realized that this concert had to be for him.

In addition to helping shape my musical future, Bob was a music educator at South Seneca, the SSMFO’s gracious hosts since 2015, and my High School Alma Mater. After his time at South Seneca, he continued teaching at the Ithaca College School of Music. It became obvious that the concert should raise money for a new South Seneca Music Boosters Scholarship in my grandfather’s honor. The scholarship will help young musicians further their careers in music, a path which is very difficult and, at times, very expensive. I ask that you support this cause and help honor an incredible man who has given so much to me and so many others through the gift of music.