Norman Scribner

[1] While still a student at Peabody, he formed the Baltimore Choral Society and "[s]o perfection-oriented was he that he held sectionals for a junior choir and rigorous auditions" for the group.

[6] He conducted and took control of the Symphony's annual production of Handel's Messiah in 1963 after conductor Howard Mitchell "was impressed by his ability and intensity.

"[8] A 1964 profile in The Washington Post described him as a "28-year old who looks, despite the glasses which occasionally slip down from his nose and give him the air of a beleaguered English professor, like a football player."

It noted that for Scribner, doing music was "the complete life performing as pianist, organist, harpsichordist; directing as choir master at St. Alban's; teaching at George Washington University; conducting.

However, a harpist from one of the military service bands was in attendance, returned home and retrieved his instrument while a Schubert symphony was performed, and the concert was saved.

[11][12] On September 12, 1974, he accompanied the violinist Eugene Fodor at the White House for a recital at a state dinner given by President Ford for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin .

[14] As artistic director, Scribner directed the chorus in its regular concerts at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and other locations in the Washington area.

[22] He received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Virginia Theological Seminary in 2002,[23] and the Peabody Distinguished Alumni Award in 2006.