International Society of Bassists Awards Inaugural Al Fisher Grant

Bassist Broner McCoy, a first-year graduate student at Northwestern University, will use the $5,000 grant to support his bow-making practice

The International Society of Bassists (ISB) has announced that bassist Broner McCoy, of Evanston, Illinois, is the recipient of the Society's first Al Fisher Scholarship Grant. Carrying a value of $5,000, the grants are offered to bass students between the ages of 16 and 25, and may be used for any purpose related to furthering the recipient's education and musical development.

McCoy is an aspiring bass bow maker, and intends to use the grant money to support his bow-making practice. In particular, the grant will allow him to keep costs low when he crafts bows for his fellow students. Young bassists are not his only clientele, although McCoy's bows can already be found in several professional orchestras.

McCoy is presently a first year graduate student at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music, where he studies with Andrew Raciti. Previously, he studied with Jeffrey Turner at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music.

The Al Fisher Grants have been made possible by a bequest from the estate of longtime ISB member Al Fisher. Fisher's wide-ranging career encompassed time spent as an automotive industry executive and patent-holding inventor, and also as an accomplished professional bassist.

You can find out more about Broner McCoy's bows, as well as his re-hairing service, on his website.

"I believe finding ethically sourced materials for bow making is very important, from finding quality, legal[ly] sourced pernambuco to sustainably sourced bow hair," McCoy said. "The Al Fisher grant will not only help me purchase the supplies, tools, and instruction needed to continue my bow making, but will also allow me to keep my bows and rehairs at an accessible price for the students in my community."