Realizing a Dream

Nancy Bisco (BM ’63, Viola) was drawn to classical music from an early age. She spent her childhood days listening to the Metropolitan Opera station on the radio and singing the opera Carmen in fractured French.

“There was just something I felt inside when I listened to classical music,” she says today. “It became a passion for me.” When she was 10 years old and able to take music lessons at school, Bisco began playing the violin. She progressed to private lessons and dreamed of playing in a symphony. As a high school student, she came to the Peabody Preparatory to advance her violin studies. There, she was exposed to dedicated, aspiring musicians and gained confidence by performing in recitals — experiences that greatly influenced her decision to continue her education with the Peabody Conservatory, where she transitioned to playing the viola. After graduation, Bisco’s dream came true: She played the viola with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for five years.

Bisco is grateful to Peabody for helping her achieve her dream, so much so that she has consistently made philanthropic gifts to the Conservatory annually for 32 years. “Peabody gave me the opportunity to play in the symphony, which was my dream for most of my life,” she says. “That was something I had to accomplish, and Peabody obviously helped me toward that.”

As a Peabody student, Bisco had her first experiences with the BSO when she was chosen to play with the Conductors’ Forum, an initiative that brought young conductors to Baltimore to practice with the orchestra. She also won a scholarship to travel to Puerto Rico and play the violin with the Congress of Strings. While there, she was asked to join a string quartet and play the viola, which she had never played before. “I fell absolutely in love with the sound,” she says. From then on, the viola was her instrument.

After leaving Peabody, Bisco played with the BSO until 1968. She then moved to Chicago with her then husband, where she had her daughter and worked as a freelance musician. In 1973, she came back to Maryland and worked full time in an administrative position. Bisco continued to perform, playing the viola at church services, weddings, and other events with Quartette des Amis for 24 years, from 1980 to 2004.

Although Bisco, who lives in Baltimore County, doesn’t perform anymore, her love of music has remained her constant throughout her life. She has continued to support Peabody financially because the education and opportunities she received helped her achieve a career in music she loves for more than 40 years. “If it hadn’t been for Peabody, I don’t know where I would be today,” she says.