Pho tos by G lenn Triest

ENTERTAINMENT

Michael Bistritzky makes a point with his students.

Musical Mentor

A Jew born in Russia is being honored by a Catholic school
for a second career with Detroit area students.

AARON HALABE

Special to The Jewish News

T

o an outsider, it might
seem unusual to see
Michael Bistritzky
teaching a choral and or-
chestral- music class at Mercy
High School, an all girls
Catholic school in Farm-
ington Hills. After all, he's a
Russian emigre, he's Jewish
and he's 90-something years
old.
But to Mercy's ad-
ministrators, staff and
students he's just "Mr. B."
And for two decades, he has
been an integral part of the
school's vibrant music educa-
tion curriculum. In recogni-
tion of his contributions, Mer-
cy will present a tribute con-
cert and dinner on Dec. 8. The
school also hopes to establish
an endowed chair in his
honor.

"He's a consummate musi-
cian," says Larry Teevens,
chairman of Mercy's music
department. "He's meticu-
lous, he sees and hears every
detail and the kids love him
. . . he has a very high perfor-
mance standard and he's very
patient. But if it isn't to that
standard, they'll do it again
and again. He knows what he
wants because the result is in
his ear. And the kids respect
him for his musical integrity."
For over 50 years, students
have enjoyed the benefits of
Mr. Bistritzky's musical in-
tegrity. Many of them have
gone on to professional music
careers with major orchestras
in Detroit, New York, Min-
neapolis and Los Angeles.
Mr. Bistritzky emigrated to
the United States duringthe
Depression and began his
career in the Detroit Public
Schools system. Trained as a
violinist, he organized the

school system's string music
curriculum and taught at the
primary school level. In 1942,
he accepted a position at Cass
Technical High School where
for 25 years he taught music
theory and conducted or-
chestra and chamber groups.
After a full career at Cass,
Mr. Bistritzky returned to the
French Riviera, a favorite
vacation spot, where he says
he had hoped to continue
"cultivating my French
language skills . . . Russian is
my native language. I usual-
ly say it's the only language
I speak without accent."
But the lure of music and
teaching brought him back to
Detroit. His brother-in-law,
former Detroit Symphony Or-
chestra cellist Jack Becker,
recommended him to Mercy
to fill a vacancy in their
music department. Mr.
Bistritzky was offered and ac-
cepted the job, says Mercy's

Larry Teevens, without even
discussing salary or employ-
ment terms.
"I had already 25 years of
very full activities at Cass —
one of the very outstanding
high school orchestras in the
nation," says Mr. Bistritzky.
". . But I thought to myself
that I may as well come here
instead of playing shuf-
fleboard in Miami. And at the
beginning it looked very tem-
porary, but somehow it grew.
And it grew up into a second
career — 20 years now."
Mr. Bistritzky says Mercy
provides the artistic and
academic freedom that
enables him to have an im-
pact on his students. "This
place has one absolutely
precious value. They leave
you alone. You do whatever
you are capable to do and they
don't interfere, they don't
criticize, they don't instruct
you. And that freedom doesn't

exist in public schools. I can
function freely to the full ex-
tent of what I am able to do.
"I attribute my longevity to
Mercy. Because the figure
that I name as far as my age
is concerned is very
discouraging, you know. But
at the same time, the very
fact that I am constantly oc-
cupied with the students,
with making arrangements of
music, I think is responsible
for my longevity. Because if I
would be idle, I probably
would have passed out
already sooner?'
Although he hesitates to
reveal his actual age, (col-
leagues believe him to be 92
or 93), Mr. Bistritzky's vitali-
ty belies his age. Despite a
diminutive stature and a soft
voice tinged with the inflec-
tion of his Russian youth, he
is a powerful force atop a
podium. He commands the
respect of his students who

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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