Léni Fé Bland

Music crosses all borders, and so does Léni Fé Bland. A petite, silver-haired woman with perfect posture, Léni speaks with a British accent and lively enthusiasm for her twin passions: music and philanthropy.

A native of England, Léni Fé Bland has traveled widely and lived in France and Switzerland. She grew up in a family where music was highly valued. A classically trained vocal artist, she was once invited to perform for a group of blind people. Her performance was enthusiastically received and thus was born a passion for helping others through music. For many years she toured the length of England donating solo concerts.

One of her friends, the late Yehudi Menuhin, who had a school in England for musically gifted children, asked her to support the sister of one of his young protégés from Taipei, Taiwan. She promptly agreed and began a life-long work to further the professional development of talented young musicians. The young woman from Taipei did so well at the Menuhin School that Léni extended her support, sending the young woman to the Royal College of Music in London, the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and to university in New York where she earned a doctorate.

In 1992, Léni formalized her philanthropic passion with the establishment of her own foundation: the Léni Fé Bland Foundation. Things began slowly with letters mailed to all music teachers in California. The word spread quickly and applications poured in. Léni's enthusiasm led her to found a national vocal competition, as well as a national piano competition. -Over the past 14 years more than 1,000 students have been nurtured by the Léni Fé Bland Foundation. Many of them are playing for major orchestras in the United States and beyond. These young people are not mere names for Léni. She maintains a personal connection with each one and speaks with energy of their careers and personal successes.

All this represents tremendous time and effort. Wishing to cut back on the administration of her scholarships and allow more time for the personal connection with the students, Léni approached the Santa Barbara Foundation last year and established the Léni Fé Bland Fund. She remains committed to her passions and speaks sadly of the lack of music education in the schools. "Music is a very important part of one's education'as important as math or geography," she says.