Charles Braico, cherished house manager, sails off for his next adventure

When a power generator went kerflooey in the neighborhood around Symphony Center on April 6, ticket holders arrived in the Orchestra Hall lobby to find a familiar face answering questions about that night’s Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert, which seemed suddenly in flux. 

House Manager Charles Braico, directing traffic, had already been in the building for hours when trouble first began: “I was sitting in my office, getting my notes together for the evening when the lights first flickered, and then we lost full power,” he said. “People were in the building already, dining in a number of our restaurant spaces! And we had over 200 in the ballroom to hear WXRT Radio DJ Terri Hemmert in conversation with principal percussionist Cynthia Yeh [for a Classic Encounter event].” 

Braico was able to assure the onsite staff and the incoming lobby crowd that, indeed, an emergency generator would keep certain services, and lighting, in operation while the engineers and a ComEd crew worked on the problem. The concert, featuring the Russian-born pianist Kirill Gerstein and conductor-composer Thomas Adès (the latter in his CSO debut), still seemed likely to happen, and it did happen, at least in part. 

But the evening’s surprises turned out to be a high-energy coda to Braico’s 11-year tenure as the CSO’s house manager, which comes to a close on April 16. Known to all regulars as that trusted face in the CSO lobbies, approachable for questions about almost anything, Braico coordinates the activities of the front-of-house staff, coat checkers and volunteer ushers, often sprinting among house levels on foot via a back stairwell to get the job done. During COVID, Braico even ran the occasional camera for virtual concerts.

Braico is giving up his aerobic workouts as house manager for a job in the travel industry, surrendering to the wanderlust nurtured by his family since his first plane trip, as a 3-year-old, to Hawaii. As he vividly recalled about his arrival at the O’Hare departure terminal on that day, “They had some palm tree-looking structures inside, and I thought we were in Hawaii already!”

With delight, Braico outlined his parents’ goal of traveling with him to each of the 50 states before he finished high school: “They didn’t quite make it, but they came really close,” he said of their grand vision. Charles would set foot in the last state — Vermont — the summer after his final college term. 

The family’s other passion was the performing arts, and young Charles caught that bug early, too: “I was really fortunate growing up in the Chicago area,” said Braico, who went to high school in Downers Grove and started college as a journalism major at Columbia College in the Loop. “While studying, I took a part-time job as usher for Broadway in Chicago, and I enjoyed venue management so much that I switched my major.” Arts management with a focus on venue management became his new calling.

At the CSO, the title of house manager means a lot of things that can change from day to day, Braico said, “but the prime component is to provide the safest and most welcoming environment every night. 

“During the performances themselves, I am often in my office [on the first floor], just steps from the concert hall, so that I can accomplish some administrative work, and it allows me to be nearby in case I need to respond to something urgent. Listening to a beautiful concert while answering a few emails? Not too bad!” 

Over the years, Braico became experienced as well with the special nature of more than 30 venues all over the city and suburbs, as the CSO took to the road for community concerts at schools, houses of worship and other public spaces such as Lane Tech College Prep High School. 

The needs of CSO guests at Symphony Center do vary quite a bit, from event to event, as Braico explained shortly before his last day on the job. “I would say that on Thursday nights, we see a lot of our regular CSO supporters, subscribers, donors and trustees who typically hit the first performance of the weekend, and so there are a lot of familiar friends. 

“And if it’s a Friday evening, that can mean a few different things, whether a CSO concert or a jazz event. Fridays can be more about a full evening experience, maybe looking forward to a chance to socialize at dinner before or after, with not as much concern for the hour, going into the weekend. 

“Then there are those who are dedicated to the Friday matinee series,” Braico said. “That can mean guests who are retired or who have available time during the daytime hours when it’s easier to get to Symphony Center, and there’s a lot of wonderful energy in those concerts. 

“And then we also present a family matinee series, and also one for groups of school children, and those are typically on Fridays during the day. Sometimes we have nearly 5,000 students between a couple of concerts for those."

For the very youngest guests, ages 3-5, the concerts move to Buntrock Hall for the Once Upon a Symphony series: “There you have maybe an actor or chorus member telling a wonderful story in a more interactive space,” Braico said. 

Next up for Braico will be a job as a personal cruise consultant for Holland America Line. In fact, he already has quite a bit of experience in the cruise realm. “Because of the CSO schedule, as busy as the season is, I actually have had a little bit of extra vacation time in the summer,” he said. “So, I take time off to travel every single summer, and I have loved the cruise experience. I took a cruise to Iceland several years ago, and I traveled the Mediterranean a couple of times, and did another up the east coast of Canada. Those are great memories.” 

Braico came aboard at the CSO in 2012, early in the tenure of Music Director Riccardo Muti, and he considers many of the CSO musicians to be great friends. Over time, he came to learn a lot about the history of the Orchestra Hall building itself, and he has led tours from a historical perspective, and with a focus on the backstage experience as well. 

The view will be different at the new job, of course, but Braico said he will not soon forget the vista from the Symphony Center’s eastern windows: “I always enjoyed the Michigan Avenue overlooks from the upper-level arcade spaces across from the Art Institute, Grant Park and Lake Michigan — those quieter areas with impressive views.” 

And for longtime CSO regulars, the view at Symphony Center will not be the same without Charles.