Dr. John Fisher and Dr. Bruce McDonald met at Texas Wesleyan in the fall of 1995, but they didn’t perform together until eight years later.
Fisher, a Doctor of music, said that he and McDonald, an associate professor of religion, work well together when they perform duo-piano, which means they perform on separate pianos that face each other.
“2003 was our first performance together,” Fisher said. “We’re kind of a matched pair, similar age bracket and similar backgrounds. Dr. Mcdonald has an undergraduate degree in piano from the University of Texas at Austin. My undergraduate was also in piano and it was just a nice fit, so we started playing programs.”
Fisher and McDonald’s 11th performance together will be March 31 at Martin Hall. The program will last about an hour and include pieces by Bach, Debussy, Mozart and Gershwin.
In 2009, Fisher and McDonald released The Fisher-McDonald Duo: A Musical Posy, which features selections by Bach, Mozart and Copland, among others. Fisher said the CD is not available for purchase.
“We figured, why not?” Fisher said. “Groups that make music together record music together.”
Fisher said that the two do more than just play the pieces; they also interact with the audience and McDonald offers light-hearted commentary.
McDonald said Fisher is incredibly fun to work with.
“We thoroughly enjoy doing the work and work well together,” McDonald said. “It just takes time and of course time seems to be very rare these days, it’s an endangered species.”
Dr. Ronnie McManus, professor of Religion and Philosophy, said he is planning to attend duo’s performance.
McManus wrote in an email that he has known Fisher for 15 years and McDonald for 21 years, and that he has attended every one of their performances unless he was out of town.
“My wife and I attend and there is usually a good representation of Wesleyan faculty and students,” McManus wrote, adding that Fisher seems very passionate about his work and students, and that McDonald speaks incredibly highly of him.
“I’m not terribly musically inclined, but recognize some of the pieces from teaching humanities, which I have taught for more than a decade,” McManus wrote. “Whenever you ride in the car with Dr. McDonald classical music is playing,” McManus wrote.
Dr. John Fisher and Dr. Bruce McDonald will perform together on March 31 at Martin Hall. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.
