Candy Bawcombe (CHS ’74)

Candace Bawcombe, organist, pianist, harpsichordist, choirmaster and educator, has enjoyed a prolific career as a concert pianist, soloist with orchestras, recitalist, chamber musician and orchestral pianist/keyboardist. Critics have sung praises of her playing including The New York Times which hailed her performance as, “…deeply talented; a beautiful pianist.” Ms. Bawcombe has performed on three continents as recitalist, soloist with orchestras, and chamber musician. She has enjoyed collaborations with many of today’s most sought after artists including violinists Pinchas Zukerman, Peter Winograd, first violinist of the American String Quartet, Eugene Drucker, violinist of the Emerson String Quartet and concertmasters of many orchestras including David Kim of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Pieter Schoemann of London Philharmonic Orchestra, Frank Almond of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Michael Shih of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra as well as many musicians in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. International recitals include performances with violinist Erick Friedman, and cellist Stephen Kates. Violinist Paul Zukofsky performed with Ms. Bawcombe at Summergarden Series at the Museum of Modern Art. Ms. Bawcombe performed the world premiere of Three Persian Songs by Bezhad Ranjbaran with Metropolitan Opera Star Renée Fleming in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. Mr. Zukerman and Ms. Bawcombe recorded violin and piano music featured in the Academy Award winning film starring and produced by Barbra Streisand; The Prince of Tides. Summer Festivals have included Aspen, Music in the Mountains, Durango, United Kingdom and Southeast Asia where she has performed solo, chamber recitals and taught masterclasses and private students. Ms. Bawcombe was an integral part of Dallas Chamber Music Society for ten years; as the first professional Executive Director through her appointment as Artistic Director. She hosted “Spotlight on Chamber Music” on WRR-fm, Classical 101.1 for several years interviewing chamber music colleagues/string quartets including the Emerson, American, Juilliard, Hagan, Jerusalem, Takács, St. Lawrence, Brentano, Pražák, Pavel Haas, Miró Quartets and St. Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Orchestra based in London. During her tenure, DCMS hosted several fundraisers which raised more money than the entire 60 plus year history of the organization. Special performances were arranged with international cellist, Lynn Harrell for “house recitals” and Ms. Bawcombe was featured in several ensemble performances which included members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Former First Lady, Laura Bush, served as Honorary Chair of a special gala performed by former Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, pianist, and the Muir String Quartet.

Born in Fort Worth, TX, Ms. Bawcombe’s family immigrated from London to Cornwall, England and settled in the United States in the early 1900’s in Illinois. Possessing an interest in liturgy and sacred music, Ms. Bawcombe has been a leader in Anglican choral and organ music in DFW having served on the Board of Directors of Fort Worth American Guild of Organists for six years. She was elected Dean from 2009-2011. During her tenure as Dean, she raised $3 million dollars for a local Episcopal church’s pipe organ restoration. She was instrumental in facilitating Pipedreams at the Meyerson Symphony Center working with Dallas AGO Board of Directors. Past positions as Organist/Choirmaster in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (ACNA) include: St. Laurence Church, Grapevine/Southlake. 4 years. St. Andrew’s Church, Fort Worth, 8 years. Wells Cathedral Residency, Wells, England, Summer 2009. St. Vincent’s Cathedral, Bedford, 2 years. All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Fort Worth (Assistant organist and Youth Choir director), 1 year. Church of the Holy Comforter, Cleburne, 3 years. Church of the Holy Communion, Anglican Pro-Cathedral, Dallas, since 2018. Choral collaborations include Diocese events for Bishop Jack L. Iker, visiting Bishops including the “flying Bishops,” Bp. of the Southern Cone, many concerted Solemn Choral Evensongs including Bp. Iker’s 20th Anniversary, Diocese conventions, Ordinations, Advent Lessons & Carols, Christmas Community Concerts, and Christmas Lessons & Carols. She has presented major organ soloists and choirs including New York Polyphony. She has been privileged to work closely in choral and chamber orchestra collaborations with Frederick Grimes, former music director and organist of Holy Trinity Lutheran, New York City, and concert organist during the past 12 years. She returned “home” to the church of her childhood as Organist/Choirmaster at The Parish Church of the Holy Comforter, Cleburne, where she began a fundraising campaign to restore the 1933 Wicks pipe organ. Garland Pipe Organs of Fort Worth completed the restoration in 2018. Ms. Bawcombe developed an interest in the pipe organ as an adult. Her organ mentors have included Dr. Barbara Marquardt Burton, Organist and Choirmaster of St. Vincent’s Cathedral (Anglican) (retired) and Frederick Grimes, formerly of St. Thomas Fifth Avenue (Episcopal) NY, and Trinity Lutheran Church, New York, NY. She held a residency at Wells Cathedral, Wells, England, performing and conducting services including Evensong, Morning Prayer and Holy Communion in 2009. She has recorded continuo for several sacred music recordings with chamber orchestra and choir. Ms. Bawcombe worked as a Performing Artist for Cliburn in the Classroom/ The Cliburn Foundation based in Fort Worth from 2013-2018. Each year she performed close to sixty solo recitals annually for elementary school children throughout North Texas. 

Ms. Bawcombe has taught locally and abroad. She developed her first piano studio while a high school student teaching ten students a week.  She was a graduate assistant teacher at TCU.   Tong-Il Han appointed her as piano faculty at music festivals in South Korea.  She taught piano students and coached piano and violin duos at Music in the Mountains Festival, Durango, and in Southwest. She was appointed by The Juilliard School faculty to join the faculty at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Brooklyn, NY and the Diller-Quaile School in New York City. Ms. Bawcombe had a private music studio in New York City for several years specializing in technique taught by Hungarian composer, Béla Bartók. She became an expert in this technique which she learned through her long-time association with her mentor, Hungarian concert pianist, Mme. Lili Kraus. She served on the faculty of the University of Texas College of Liberal Arts, Keyboard Division, as a Senior Lecturer for the past six years while she continued a small private studio in Arlington. Her students have been prize-winners of local competitions including the Dallas Solo Competition.  One of her former students is on the Music faculty of Indiana University.  

Ms. Bawcombe holds degrees in Piano Performance and a Performer’s Certificate having received a Master of Music from The Juilliard School where she held the William Petscheck Scholarship in piano. She studied with Swiss concert pianist, Abbey Simon and revered piano pedagogue, Herbert Stessin. Chamber music coaches included violinists Felix Galimir, Szymon Goldberg, Joseph Fuchs, Dorothy DeLay, Paul Zukofsky (contemporary music) and cellist Harvey Shapiro; composers Lukas Foss and John Cage. She was the last student of Dr. Grace Ward Lankford, co-founder of the Van Cliburn Quadrennial International Piano Competition. Dr. Lankford requested the young child of eleven years be accepted into the piano studio of Hungarian concert pianist, Mme. Lili Kraus, Artist-in-Residence at TCU and a permanent jury member of the Cliburn Competition. Kraus, who studied with Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály and Artur Schnabel, mentored the young child prodigy throughout her career. Bawcombe remained close to Kraus until her death in 1986. Ms. Bawcombe began working in Music Management part-time while performing based in New York. She was a quick study and began with Kirshbaum and Associates learning marketing, management, contract negotiation, writing skills, program editing, booking recitals and handling international press for major classical artists as well as her own performing career. She has edited liner notes for recording labels and published biographies in Stagebill at Lincoln Center. She has been a member of Musical America, Chamber Music America, and ICSOM, National Music Teachers Association, and the American Guild of Organists.  She has recently been appointed to the piano faculty of the all-Steinway school in Plano, Prime Music Currently, she works for IMG Artists. IMG is a global leader of performing arts, social media, and festival and events management. She is married to Andrew Schast, Jr., from Philadelphia. They met while students at Juilliard. He was appointed by the late Eduardo Mata and has performed in the first violin section of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for 26 years. They have two children.

Ms. Bawcombe is Music Director and Organist at Church of the Holy Communion Anglican Cathedral in Dallas, TX.