Point CounterPoint History

  • Edwin and Helen Finckel
    Edwin and Helen Finckel

How We Began

Point CounterPoint was founded in 1963 on the shores of Lake Dunmore in Leicester, Vermont by the late Edwin Finckel, a New Jersey pianist, composer, and teacher. His wife Helen was his partner in running PCP.  Edwin’s goal was to create summer musical opportunities for his students. Among these first camper/musicians was his son, David Finckel, now well-known as the cellist of the Emerson String Quartet from 1979-2013, the cellist in the duo of David Finckel and Wu Han, and the co-Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

The next owners and directors were Emory Fanning, professor of music at Middlebury College, and Diana Fanning, a noted concert pianist. The Fannings directed PCP for ten years, and under their leadership Point CounterPoint gained an international reputation, attracting students from France, Italy, Germany, Turkey, West Africa, Japan, Israel, Switzerland, and Canada. The Fannings also started the Salisbury Concert Series (now the Otter Creek Music Festival) which hosts and promotes the Faculty and Final Camper Concerts to this day.

In 1989, ownership of Point CounterPoint passed to professional violinist/violist Dr. Paul Roby and pianist Margaret Johnson Roby, along with amateur musicians and family members Nick and Sue Jones. The Robys reorganized Point CounterPoint’s music program, focusing primarily on strings and piano, while continuing to offer one 3-week and one 4-week session. After 18 years of running PCP and ready to retire, the Robys searched for a new owner to purchase the camp. They were unsuccessful, and regretfully PCP’s doors briefly closed in 2006.

In 2008, a new era began when Jenny and Steve Beck purchased Point CounterPoint. Jenny Beck had come to the area in search of a summer lake home, but was inspired when she discovered the property for sale.

Since becoming Executive Director, Jenny Beck has expanded PCP – both programs and facilities. In recent years, the RecHall was enlarged and renovated, the Fanning’s cabin rebuilt into The Grange (practice rooms and the infirmary), Big Red and The Roost remodeled, and a gazebo added. Jenny also began the Adult Chamber Workshop in 2010. The ACW extends the “summer camp experience” to amateur musicians of all ages. In 2011, Jenny Beck took an even more adventurous step: starting a contemporary music festival at PCP, which brings young composers and performers together from across the world to create new music. Today, that festival, New Music On The Point is a competitive, internationally-recognized program that brings outstanding performers to the area for Community Concerts every summer.

  • Jenny and Steve Beck
    Jenny and Steve Beck
  • Jenny Beck at Wreck Hall

Fun Facts About PCP

  • The Roost and Big Red cabins used to be switched (names). That’s why the current Roost (a boys cabin) has girls’ graffiti from years ago on its walls, and vice versa.
  • Until 2010, Big Red (now The Roost) didn’t have indoor plumbing, but a row of outhouses for the girls to use, up by the road.
  • An enormous pine tree fell on the Rec Hall in April 2018, crushing half the building and destroying the grand piano! Jenny Beck was able to have the entire concert side of the building rebuilt (and expanded!) in just two months, before New Music On The Point started.
  • The oldest cabins are Log Cabin and Emerson, which date back to the late 1800s, long before Point CounterPoint was a camp. Jenny had both log cabins refurbished in 2010, and some of the wood in the bunks is still original today.
  • Faculty at PCP live across the street from camp, in The Lodge. The Lodge is very old; in fact, it was a stagecoach inn around the turn of the 19th century – hence the 12 bedrooms.
  • In the spring of 1881, a small steam boat called the “Lulu M” operated on Lake Dunmore, and PCP’s beach was the launch site! The Lulu M. could transport about 20 people up and down the lake.
  • At one time, the back room of the Lodge was the dining hall for the Girl Scout camp in the 1940s. There used to be a wooden bridge crossing the road to connect the Lodge and the lakeside camp property.


If you’re a former camper, faculty member, or parent, check out our Smugmug collection of all-camp photos, going back all the way to 1980!

I still remember that first ride up with the Finckels to Vermont. In that old, wonderful VW bus. “We’re gonna build a camp”…I think was the mission. At the lakeside, tent platforms and volleyball nets and practice cabins and a rec hall all took shape, and a great and lasting adventure was begun. I was 13, and spent the next couple of summers doing what one never forgets…making music by a lake. I remember Dribble and Muffy and Klick, and all those others so aptly nicknamed. I remember trips to the A&W, Brahms on a marimba, the sand pit, and dump runs. It’s so great now to be back and see an institution that’s persevered so well. And you know, those feelings are all still in the air. Hard to believe, but they’ve nurtured me for the 50 years in between. So watch out. It could happen to you!

–Larry Grob, PCP alum, inaugural camper, and artist

  • Three young people are outside a building labeled REC. HALL; one writes notes, perhaps for a Point CounterPoint debate, one adjusts a sign on the wall, and another looks down while brushing her hand near her face—each adding their mark to history.
    Three young people are outside a building labeled REC. HALL; one writes notes, perhaps for a Point CounterPoint debate, one adjusts a sign on the wall, and another looks down while brushing her hand near her face—each adding their mark to history.
  • Two people sit on a bed playing cards in a lively point-counterpoint, one smiling while the other looks surprised. Wooden shelves and books hint at a love of history in the background.
    Two people sit on a bed playing cards in a lively point-counterpoint, one smiling while the other looks surprised. Wooden shelves and books hint at a love of history in the background.
  • A group of people play string instruments and piano in a rustic wooden room with exposed walls and ceiling, evoking the rich history of chamber music. Sheet music is visible on a stand by the piano—a scene reminiscent of Point CounterPoint gatherings.
    A group of people play string instruments and piano in a rustic wooden room with exposed walls and ceiling, evoking the rich history of chamber music. Sheet music is visible on a stand by the piano—a scene reminiscent of Point CounterPoint gatherings.
  • Four young musicians in formal attire stand with their instruments—violin, cello, and clarinet—in a wooden room with exposed beams at Point CounterPoint, preparing to make history with their performance.
    Four young musicians in formal attire stand with their instruments—violin, cello, and clarinet—in a wooden room with exposed beams at Point CounterPoint, preparing to make history with their performance.
  • A group of people stand near wooden cabins in a wooded camp area, while a woman—perhaps reflecting on Point CounterPoint History—sits alone on a chair in the foreground.
    A group of people stand near wooden cabins in a wooded camp area, while a woman—perhaps reflecting on Point CounterPoint History—sits alone on a chair in the foreground.
  • A group of people posing for a photo, capturing a moment in history.
    A group of people posing for a photo, capturing a moment in history.
  • Two women face each other and embrace outdoors, one smiling and the other appearing emotional, capturing a Point CounterPoint History moment with people and a building in the background.
    Two women face each other and embrace outdoors, one smiling and the other appearing emotional, capturing a Point CounterPoint History moment with people and a building in the background.
  • Three people play violins outdoors in a wooded area, evoking the spirit of Point CounterPoint History; two stand on the ground while one stands on a wooden platform. Violin cases and chairs are nearby.
    Three people play violins outdoors in a wooded area, evoking the spirit of Point CounterPoint History; two stand on the ground while one stands on a wooden platform. Violin cases and chairs are nearby.

Keep the Story Going!

If you’re a former camper, parent, or faculty member with fond PCP memories…consider helping to keep Point CounterPoint going for future generations, by supporting the Play It Forward Campaign! This campaign was created by the PCP Foundation to help secure Point CounterPoint’s future. Learn more on the PCP Foundation Page.