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IN PERSON

Scotland's minstrel

ANTOINETTE GALBRAITH meets a Christian musician specialising in using music to help children deal with difficult issues

Stephen Fischbacher is Britain’s only official church minstrel. Based in Edinburgh for the past six years, he has been travelling to schools from Lincoln to Aberdeen with his guitar, singing to groups of children in primary schools.

His music is unusual. Through his lyrics, Stephen tackles such issues as the pain caused by divorce, loneliness, death and bullying.

The issue of bullying is especially important to him and, along with self-esteem and friendship, is the subject of his latest CD Build Up, which was launched in Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall in September. "Bullying is such a massive issue in schools. Most schools have a lot of written work on bullying but there is little that is musical. I think it is easier for children to feel their emotions through music."

Rather than instructing children "not to bully each other, which won’t work," Stephen, 41, tends to go for a positive approach, often working within a school’s own anti-bullying policy. "My songs are aimed at the bullies and the bullied. They are aimed at the person who is having a hard time and those who are giving the hard time.

"The idea is that you can build people up or you can tear them down. The approach is: aren’t we all great? I try to give children the resources to deal with everyday worries."

A former youth worker at St Paul’s and St George’s Church in Edinburgh, Stephen began composing his own music when he "became disillusioned with singing everybody else’s songs".
It was a difficult period, he remembers, a period of intense frustration, when he felt his creativity had deserted him and would never return. "It was like being in a desert, I thought something was wrong, and was frustrated because I didn’t know what to do next."

He started "doing a bit of music" for his children, Beth (12) and Brodie (10). He also did tapes for his nieces and nephews in Canada. As their babies grew into toddlers, Stephen and his wife Linda became aware that much of the music produced in church was not targeted towards children. For this reason the couple had found "it was a hard experience trying to keep children happy in church, even at St Paul’s and St George’s where the atmosphere is informal."

So Stephen progressed to writing songs geared towards younger children, which he would try out on a Sunday in church. But, as he began to write, Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer. The shock of the diagnosis, followed by a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy changed Stephen’s focus immediately. First it brought a sense of urgency to his work.

"Time seemed potentially shorter," he says, "and I began to speed things up." Within a year, he and a group of 14 children from St Paul’s and St George’s had recorded It’s A Noisy World, an album of songs for children.

If the tragedy of Linda’s illness speeded up Stephen’s songwriting, it also changed the nature of his work for ever. Where, he wondered, did God fit into illness, death, pain and broken lives? And if it was difficult for him, as an adult, to understand such concepts, how much more impossible would it be for children? In short, where was God "in all this"?

Slowly, as Stephen reached into the depths of sorrow, It’s A Noisy World developed into an album concerned with issues such as "real feelings, and difficult areas in children’s lives". The response to what Stephen describes as the "anarchic songs" was immediate. "In particular, children were going crazy over The Angry Song. It was tackling an area in their lives.

"Through the songs, I was trying to get real about God and about feelings. I was asking questions such as 'does God ever get angry himself?' And it seemed as if no one was tackling these areas. What about the children from broken homes, the wounded children? And what about the children with no parents? Where was God in all the pain?"

Two years later, in 1997, with Linda dying, Stephen recorded his second album Just Imagine. "Recording the album kept me sane," Stephen says of that time. "I poured everything I had into it, and it was cathartic. The music helped, in a small way, to redeem the situation."

Initially Stephen concentrated two days a week on the newly founded Fischy Music. Then, two years ago, with the full support of the church he began working full-time. Two days a week musician Suzanne Adam, 23, joins him.

"The aim is to tackle everyday issues, and to look at where God is in the difficult times. Besides self-esteem, bullying, discipline and problems facing families like divorce, we do things on abuse," Stephen says, pointing out that sexual abuse is an issue he plans to tackle.

"I’ve asked a lot of teachers what issues children face. Rather than evangelising and saying 'Jesus is the answer', I want to tackle some of those questions from a Christian standpoint as part of the RE programme in schools."

Antoinette Galbraith is a freelance writer based in Edinburgh

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		IN PERSON Scotland's minstrel ANTOINETTE GALBRAITH meets a Christian musician specialising in using music to help children deal with difficult issues Stephen Fischbacher is Britain’s only official church minstrel. Based in Edinburgh for the past six years, he has been travelling to schools from Lincoln to Aberdeen with his guitar, singing to groups of children in primary schools. His music is unusual. Through his lyrics, Stephen tackles such issues as the pain caused by divorce, loneliness, death and bullying. The issue of bullying is especially important to him and, along with self-esteem and friendship, is the subject of his latest CD Build Up, which was launched in Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall in September. "Bullying is such a massive issue in schools. Most schools have a lot of written work on bullying but there is little that is musical. I think it is easier for children to feel their emotions through music." Rather than instructing children "not to bully each other, which won’t work," Stephen, 41, tends to go for a positive approach, often working within a school’s own anti-bullying policy. "My songs are aimed at the bullies and the bullied. They are aimed at the person who is having a hard time and those who are giving the hard time. "The idea is that you can build people up or you can tear them down. The approach is: aren’t we all great? I try to give children the resources to deal with everyday worries." A former youth worker at St Paul’s and St George’s Church in Edinburgh, Stephen began composing his own music when he "became disillusioned with singing everybody else’s songs". It was a difficult period, he remembers, a period of intense frustration, when he felt his creativity had deserted him and would never return. "It was like being in a desert, I thought something was wrong, and was frustrated because I didn’t know what to do next." He started "doing a bit of music" for his children, Beth (12) and Brodie (10). He also did tapes for his nieces and nephews in Canada. As their babies grew into toddlers, Stephen and his wife Linda became aware that much of the music produced in church was not targeted towards children. For this reason the couple had found "it was a hard experience trying to keep children happy in church, even at St Paul’s and St George’s where the atmosphere is informal." So Stephen progressed to writing songs geared towards younger children, which he would try out on a Sunday in church. But, as he began to write, Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer. The shock of the diagnosis, followed by a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy changed Stephen’s focus immediately. First it brought a sense of urgency to his work. "Time seemed potentially shorter," he says, "and I began to speed things up." Within a year, he and a group of 14 children from St Paul’s and St George’s had recorded It’s A Noisy World, an album of songs for children. If the tragedy of Linda’s illness speeded up Stephen’s songwriting, it also changed the nature of his work for ever. Where, he wondered, did God fit into illness, death, pain and broken lives? And if it was difficult for him, as an adult, to understand such concepts, how much more impossible would it be for children? In short, where was God "in all this"? Slowly, as Stephen reached into the depths of sorrow, It’s A Noisy World developed into an album concerned with issues such as "real feelings, and difficult areas in children’s lives". The response to what Stephen describes as the "anarchic songs" was immediate. "In particular, children were going crazy over The Angry Song. It was tackling an area in their lives. "Through the songs, I was trying to get real about God and about feelings. I was asking questions such as 'does God ever get angry himself?' And it seemed as if no one was tackling these areas. What about the children from broken homes, the wounded children? And what about the children with no parents? Where was God in all the pain?" Two years later, in 1997, with Linda dying, Stephen recorded his second album Just Imagine. "Recording the album kept me sane," Stephen says of that time. "I poured everything I had into it, and it was cathartic. The music helped, in a small way, to redeem the situation." Initially Stephen concentrated two days a week on the newly founded Fischy Music. Then, two years ago, with the full support of the church he began working full-time. Two days a week musician Suzanne Adam, 23, joins him. "The aim is to tackle everyday issues, and to look at where God is in the difficult times. Besides self-esteem, bullying, discipline and problems facing families like divorce, we do things on abuse," Stephen says, pointing out that sexual abuse is an issue he plans to tackle. "I’ve asked a lot of teachers what issues children face. Rather than evangelising and saying 'Jesus is the answer', I want to tackle some of those questions from a Christian standpoint as part of the RE programme in schools." Antoinette Galbraith is a freelance writer based in Edinburgh © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.