Arts&Life

music

Concert Page Turner 
Practices Medicine by Day 

D

r. Henry Shevitz, 78, 
of West Bloomfield, 
spends his days 
as a doctor, specializing in 
nuclear medicine. But on 
weekends for the past 27 
years, he has served as a vol-
unteer page turner for the 
Chamber Music Society of 
Detroit. This little-recognized 
job is essential for successful 
piano concerts. Shevitz is the 
person who follows the per-
formance in real time, sitting 
next to the featured pianist, 
and turns the music pages at 
just the right moment.
“It’
s really a high-pres-
sure job. If you do your job, 
nobody notices. All you can 
do is screw up,” he says. 
A talented pianist him-
self, Shevitz plays the piano 
daily. “I learned to play the 
piano before I could read,” he 
says. He plays with different 
duos as part of a local group, 
Friends of Four Hands, 
which began in the early 
1980s. Years ago, Shevitz 
played regularly with his late 
wife, Susan Shevitz. 
His musical background 

helps with his concert role. 
Shevitz is familiar with about 
a quarter of the music per-
formed, although sometimes 
he requests a copy of the 
concert music ahead of time. 
He doesn’
t rehearse with the 
pianist so it’
s no wonder that 
he describes his work as a 
“perilous job.”
“I talk to the pianist right 
before the concert. Some are 
nasty, some are nice, some 
are aloof,” he says. 
His concert volunteer work 
began when he turned pages 
for several pianists at his 
West Bloomfield synagogue, 
Temple Kol Ami, years ago.
“In the almost 16 years 
I’
ve been with the Chamber 
Music S 
ociety of Detroit, I 
cannot remember one single 
time when Henry was sched-
uled to turn pages for a con-
cert and didn’
t come,” says 
Willa Walker of Bloomfield 
Township, the Chamber 
Music Society’
s vice presi-
dent. “
And I cannot remem-
ber one single time when 
he didn’
t do his job perfect-
ly. He’
s highly skilled, profes-
sional and committed to the 
Chamber Music Society.” 

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

40 | APRIL 30 • 2020 

Henry Shevitz turns pages for renowned 
pianist András Schiff (with cellist Miklós 
Perényi) at Seligman Performing Arts 
Center in Beverly Hills on April 4, 2007.

NEW LUXURY 
RANCH HOMES IN 
BLOOMFIELD HILLS

ROBERTSONHOMES.COM

(248) 963-8913
Lahser Rd, South of Square Lake

VIDEO APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE
VIRTUAL TOURS ONLINE

CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF DETROIT

