Passion for music fuels proud, worldly educator in Valley
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YOUNGSTOWN -- Combine someone who is extremely proud of her Saxon heritage with having a refined musical pedagogy and a high priority on education, and you have the essence of Rosemarie A. Kascher.
"My dining room is a classroom. These students are absolutely wonderful to work with, and they treat me like a visiting princess," Kascher, who grew up in Youngstown and is a graduate of The Rayen School, said.
Kascher was referring to those she teaches conversation skills to during two weekly 90-minute online sessions she conducts from her home. Until a few years ago, Kascher's efforts were through The English Center at St. John's Episcopal Church.
A significant part of her efforts with the outreach program is teaching such skills and test preparation to students all over the world, including those from South Korea, India, Brazil and New Zealand.
Perhaps equally important to the longtime educator are having been raised by her immigrant parents in the Saxon tradition and carrying forth the values from it that include selflessness and service to others, she explained.
Being at the head of a classroom -- or a student in a college classroom -- is hardly new to this seasoned educator. Kascher, who began singing and playing piano with the Concordia Chorus as a child, earned a bachelor's degree in music from the University of Miami as a voice major, where she also graduated cum laude.
In 1976 and 1983, Kascher took part in the chorus' European concert tours as a soloist and assistant conductor.
Her educational credits also include having earned a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in New York City and a Doctor of Music Arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music after having completed her residency at Case Western Reserve University. In addition, she spent summers studying at Oxford University in Oxford, England, as well as Pecs University in Hungary.
Kascher began her teaching career at Kwassui College (now Kwassui Women's University) in Nagasaki, Japan, where she spent nearly four years -- including when the atomic bomb was dropped Aug. 6, 1945, at the end of World War II.
While in Japan, Kascher was in regular contact with many who survived the bombing and saw firsthand the suffering and hardships it wrought.
After returning to the Mahoning Valley, Kascher wasted little time in finding her next classrooms and teaching opportunities. She was a 20-year part-time teacher at Youngstown State University; Kascher also was a part-time faculty member at Cleveland State University and, for years, served as music coordinator and supervisor in the Austintown Local School District.
In addition, Kascher has spent more than 50 years with The English Center.
Perhaps one of Kascher's crowning and proudest achievements is her longtime affiliation with the Austintown Fitch High School Concert Choir, which recently celebrated its 50th year of serving and entertaining at veterans and military hospitals as well as for active military personnel. Specifically, Kascher was its founder; in 1964, she began a 17-year career teaching choir.
"Fifty years ago, Capt. Milton R. Kochert, retired naval officer, after having visited veterans hospitals, came to me and said, 'We have to do something for those men,'" she recalled, adding, "Over the years, we have literally served hundreds and hundreds of thousands of active and hospitalized veterans and military."
During their spring breaks, choir students were assigned to military bases on which were hospitals where they performed. With the pandemic more under control this year, choir members are able to enter hospitals again, and they will be stationed at the Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia, for which they're raising money, Kascher noted.
"The focus of this choir is on service, not how many honorary medals it can win," she emphasized.
In January, current choir director Bill Klein joined three former directors for the 50th reunion performance in which about 130 alumni and current members sang. Military personnel and veterans were honored at the musical event in the school.
Also at the top of Kascher's priority list is ensuring her students develop solid leadership skills and become productive citizens, she said.
"When they say, 'thank you,' you just blossom," Kascher added.
Her many awards and accolades include the Congressional Community Service Award, along with being a member of the International Society of Music Educators, Who's Who of Musicians and the World Who's Who of Women. In addition, Kascher earned membership in the Who's Who of American Women and the American Association of University Professors.
To suggest a Saturday profile, contact Features Editor Burton Cole at bcole@tribtoday.com or Metro Editor Marly Reichert at mreichert@tribtoday.com.
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