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Toby Perlman, wife of violinist Itzhak and mother of five, is a down-to-earth visionary with a firm will and a warm heart--qualities that must have stood her in good stead as the hub of an overwhelmingly busy household to which she gave her full time and attention as her children were growing up. Now that all but one of the Perlman children have left the nest, these same gifts are being directed to the realization of a long-held dream, a summer study program for gifted young musicians from all over the world.
In 1995, The Perlman Music Program opened its doors for the first time with a twoweek session in Easthampton, Long Island, in rented facilities near the Perlman's country home. The next year, two weeks became three, and in 1999 it expanded to four. Now, in the summer of 2000, not only will the Perlman Music Program run for a full six weeks, but it will move into its own permanent home on nearby Shelter Island.
Toby Perlman's office on the top floor of their Manhattan brownstone serves as the school's command central. Photographs of the new facilities, diagrams of dormitory arrangements, practice rooms, and lists upon lists of names, presumably of faculty, students, support staff (which this summer will include a cello-playing life-guard to patrol the sizeable private beach), adorn the walls. The screensaver on her computer is a slowly moving banner installed by her son-in-law that reads "Don't Mess With Toby" in big red letters. Given that its owner is a petite wisp of a woman, the message must be a comment on the degree of energy and purpose she radiates.
The Perlman Music Program is hardly just another summer music camp. For one thing, you cannot really ignore the presence of Toby Penman's world-famous husband, and pretend that there is nothing special about being taught or conducted by him. Itzhak Perlman, who refers to himself as "coach-at-large, or large coach", is taking an increasingly active role in the life of the school, far beyond the initial idea that he would be on hand to conduct the student orchestra's gala concert at the end of the summer. When the second and third years rolled around, he was conducting the orchestra on a...