BANKNORTH THEATRE &
CENTRAL CASS MUSIC WING
The BankNorth Theatre and music wing was built in 2017, part of an extensive building project that catapulted Central Cass into 21st Century innovative learning opportunities. The music wing is honorably named for two most influential Central Cass music educators, Antoinette Babcock and Tom Wald.
Tom Wald, a Napoleon, ND native, was born in Bismarck, ND, to Frank and Rose Wald, on November 30, 1950. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Mayville State University. Tom was a music educator in North Dakota for 37 years, teaching at Rock Lake, Linton, Central Cass and Fargo Public Schools. “Mr. Wald introduced us to musical talents we didn’t realize we had and insisted that we nurture those talents,” shared Amy (Punton) Warrey. Jeannine Johnson recalls, “Tom was one of those people in my life that was a teacher, mentor and friend. His expectation of excellence in music education fostered many to blossom their talent and continue to touch lives for generations in the same way.” In honor of his love and support of quality music in education, Tom was inducted into the North Dakota Music Educators’ Association Hall of Fame in 2014.
Tom passed away on July 2, 2012, leaving behind his wife, Deborah, children—Brady, Kara, Adrienn and Samantha; grandchildren, and many family and friends.
Tom’s charismatic personality, humor, love for life and commitment to excellence touched and inspired the lives of all who were fortunate enough to have known him. The gifts that Tom Wald left behind are a legacy of excellence, a love for life and a musical spirit that continues to resonate the halls of Central Cass today.
On a very cold and snowy day in January, Antoinette Babcock was born into the home of William and Margaret Fraase. Siblings Philip, Gretchen, Mark and William already lived there, and Stephanie came soon after.
Antoinette knew as a very young age that she knew she wanted to play the piano. After twelve years of lessons from Lenore Cunningham, she graduated from school in Buffalo, ND and applied to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, graduating in 1966 with a degree in Applied Music and Piano Performance. Two very wonderful things happened her senior year. One—meeting the most handsome and intelligent man she had ever seen, and two—being awarded an Austrian government grant to study at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.
In the fall of 1966, Antoinette enrolled at the Mozarteum. While in Austria, she was given many performance opportunities and made her Vienna debut at the Palaix Palffy in 1968. A year later, she was awarded the Austrian Bosendorfer Prize, given to a young, promising pianist, by the Vienna Musileverein. She also recorded for Radio Austria. Antoinette’s grant was extended until 1970, when she graduated from the Mozarteum and received an Artist’s Diploma in Piano Performance.
In May 1970, the best was yet to come. Antoinette performed the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto with the Mozarteum Orchestra. A week before the concert, the handsome man she met in New York, Dr. William Babcock, sent her a telegram saying he would be in Salzburg for her performance. He was away all of those years, but always on her mind. They were married in 1971 at St. John’s Church in Embden, North Dakota. The happy couple lived in Vancouver, BC, where Bill taught modern languages, and Antoinette taught at a private school and gave hundreds of piano lessons to many children.
In 1980, the Babcocks moved back to North Dakota and built a home in Buffalo, only a block away from Antoinette’s parents. Both taught private lessons while Antoinette also taught music at Chaffee, Sheldon and Enderlin Schools. She was hired as the elementary music teacher at Central Cass in 1994. She was nominated by the ND Farm Bureau as Cass County Educator of the Year in 1995. The years went by quickly, and in 2006, Antoinette retired from teaching. That very same day, Dr. Robert Jones from North Dakota State University, called and enticed her to come and work as a staff pianist. Antoinette relished the opportunity to actually be “just a pianist” for many years until retired for the last time in 2016. She lovingly cared for Bill, until his passing in 2019.
Antoinette shared the deepest gratitude to Central Cass for all the wonderful memories teaching alongside people like Tom Wald and countless others, making memories and sharing her love for music. She expresses thanks for the great honor Central Cass has bestowed upon her and wants to thank everyone from the supportive administration, patient faculty and staff, the hundreds of very talented students and creative parents who helped make all the beautiful music possible. Antoinette lives in Buffalo, ND—thinking about all of the wonderful years she has had and still plays the piano.
