“Everyone has problems. When you hear good music, you feel good. It’s my passion to make people happy.” Suzanne Fisher, the woman behind Third Friday Chamber Music at Prescott Public Library, has a long history filled with music.
Though she didn’t stick with the instrument, a few years of piano lessons as a young child helped plant the seed of this lifelong passion. She took up the clarinet in middle school and has been playing ever since. Her educational focus in college was on Spanish literature, but Fisher minored in music at that University of California, where she also played clarinet in the band, and later attended Music Academy of the West in California and the Aspen Music Academy in Colorado. While Fisher has had a long and successful career unrelated to music, including teaching Spanish for 16 years at Yavapai College, she still nurtures her passion for music in her spare time, and has sought out opportunities to play throughout her adult life.
After moving to the Prescott area 26 years ago, she specifically looked for opportunities to play in chamber settings — small ensembles. At the time she was unable to find exactly what she wanted, so she united with other Prescott musicians to establish the Prescott Chamber Players Society in 1997. She served as president of the society for a number of years. She continues to play with the Society as well as the Central Arizona Concert Band and a few other groups.
Wanting to try something new, Fisher envisioned bringing free chamber concerts to the public in a different, potentially more accessible way. “Music is the language of the soul,” she asserts. “People crave good music, and people love classical.” She approached Toni Kaus, then director of the Prescott Public Library, about her idea for regular chamber concerts there. The foundation for a long-lasting partnership with the Library was built, and the Third Friday Chamber Music series was born.
The popular concert series has been running nearly continuously since its inception 16 years ago (less the pandemic pause in 2020-21). Each month these concerts fill the Founders Suite of the library with beautiful songs from woodwind and string arrangements, choral groups, an acclaimed glass armonica player, and more. Even after all these years, Fisher still finds joy in seeing the appreciation of concertgoers and in being able to meet with people who share her interest in and love for music.
While Fisher has well over a decade of experience arranging the program, she’s found that sometimes the most challenging aspect can be scheduling groups months in advance and ensuring that any last-minute cancellations are covered by other willing, quality musicians. But Fisher enjoys scouting out new ensembles. As she affirms, there is a lot of local talent in our area.
For instance, Acker Night creates a particularly talent-rich environment where an abundance of musicians gather to share their gifts. It can be a wonderful evening for her to discover new groups. Local chamber ensembles are also welcome to reach out to her at any Third Friday Chamber Music concert if they would like to be considered for a future event.
For more about Third Friday Chamber Music, visit or call the Library’s Ask a Librarian desk at 928-777-1526.
