Students benefit from donor's love of music

 

Boynton Beach resident Nettie Birnbach is an arts lover. That’s lucky for Lynn as she has just established the Nettie Birnbach Endowed Scholarship for Piano Education—the first named scholarship for piano students.

"This is something I've wanted to do for a long time," she says. "I just love the music a piano makes."

Birnbach was a supporter of the music division of the Harid Conservatory, which became part of Lynn University in January 1999. She has remained a loyal patron of Lynn’s conservatory by making an annual gift every year since 2006. Her gifts increased over the years until 2015 when the named scholarship was funded.

She attends most of Lynn's afternoon concerts and master classes. "I appreciate the musicianship of the students. I have no musical ability at all," she admits. "I can whistle and sing in the shower, but I'm not even singing in the shower so much anymore," she quips.

"Lynn's conservatory is marvelous. It has a phenomenal philharmonia orchestra director in Guillermo Figueroa. I love the talks he gives before each concert so the audience can better understand the music that is about to be played."

Before moving to Florida with her husband in 1994, the native Manhattanite took full advantage of New York City's cultural offerings: opera at Lincoln Center, symphonic concerts at Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, etc. "I've always loved the arts. Music has been so important to my life since I was a young teenager."

"Now I go to the movies that show operas in HD. I select the ones that play at the exact same time as the concert going on at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. I love that I can experience the same joy as those in the audience at the opera house—hundreds of people all listening at the same time."

Nettie Birnbach holds a doctorate in education, is a registered nurse and a fellow of the America Academy of Nursing. She was described as a Renaissance woman by those who nominated her for induction into the American Nurses Association (ANA) Hall of Fame in 2010.

She began her career as a graduate of Kings County School of Nursing in Brooklyn, New York, which led to her service in the United States Cadet Nurse Corps. Her curriculum vitae reflects her many contributions as a practitioner, educator, researcher and extraordinary volunteer with a great vision for nursing.

Described as setting the ultimate standard of service, Birnbach served in many appointed and elected positions including president of the New York State Nursing Association and District 14.

She has generated a body of historical research that illuminates the profession's evolution and development. One of her most significant and lasting undertakings is her doctoral research at Columbia University's Teachers College. She also created a clinical master's degree program in nursing at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Brooklyn.

Today, Birnbach continues her volunteer work. She started a nurses council at Hadassah in Boynton Beach, where they collect money to send to nurses in Israel for educational purposes. Birnbach has three daughters, six grandchildren and six great grandchildren.