Leon Fleisher was born July 23, 1928 in San Francisco, California and began studying piano at the age of four. A noted child prodigy, Fleisher became a student of Artur Schnabel at the age of nine, after which Fleisher's career in piano began in earnest. In 1964, he began to suffer from focal dystonia, a condition that cost him the use of his right hand until corrected in the mid-1990s. Fleisher is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a recepient of the Kennedy Center Honors Award (2007), and the Andrew W. Mellon Chair at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins. In this oral history, Fleisher describes his early career and mentors, his experiences with the Peabody Institute and Baltimore, and the history of the Peabody Institute, including its formal association with Johns Hopkins in 1978. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Stella Shiber is a nurse whose career began in Tennessee. After working as a charge nurse, Shiber went on to become both an educator and administrator for nursing students. She has had a great impact on Hopkins nursing, helping to influence the curriculum at the School of Nursing and establishing health care clinics for poverty-stricken Baltimore neighborhoods. In this history, Shiber discusses her experiences with Hopkins nursing. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.