What inspires your love of music?
Patrick: To help me sleep when I was a child, Mom & Dad played classical music on a small, portable phonograph. I fondly recall falling asleep to Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite. During the day, I particularly liked In the Hall of the Mountain King by Grieg (but they would not play it at night, since it would get me all riled up). I feel tremendous gratitude to my parents for exposing me to complex music at an early age. I feel certain that it greatly aided my intellectual development.
Patrice: My grandmother was a coloratura soprano. She took my mother to hear Patrice Munsel at the Metropolitan Opera — that’s how I got my name! My parents said that the first piece of furniture they purchased was a piano. Classical music was always playing in our home.
What initially drew you to the CSO?
Patrice: With seven children, my mom had to be clever in finding ways to provide live music. She’d fill the station wagon with all of us, food, a 5-gallon thermos of Kool-Aid and a Radio Flyer toy wagon so that we could go to Grant Park for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts all summer long. Sitting outside on the grass and listening to the music seemed like magic.
I always knew I’d attend CSO concerts in Orchestra Hall as soon as I was able. In high school, I made enough money to take the train from the suburbs and attend Sunday matinees in the Gallery seats!
Patrick: After my parents died when I was 10 and 12, I came to Chicago to live with my mom’s half-sister and her husband. While Aunt Hazel was not herself a music aficionado, she very generously supported my interest, sneaking me a few dollars here and there so I could purchase Gallery seats at Orchestra Hall with my student discount. In summertime, she would occasionally take me and some of her friends to the free concerts in Grant Park. Throughout high school, my visits to the CSO were a welcome respite and refuge. I vividly recall taking my girlfriend to a performance by Maestro Sir George Solti, in his early years as music director. I am smiling broadly now as I recall that evening.
Why do you feel it’s important to support the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA) as a member of the Theodore Thomas Society?
Patrick: Orchestral music has been a constant source of joy and inspiration for me, and a rich facet of my life. I feel called to try to help future generations enjoy and appreciate this awesome legacy. The children of Chicago (and the world) deserve the chance to appreciate the wonders of orchestral music, and I feel blessed to be able to contribute to the preservation and perpetuation of this rich and beautiful tradition.
Patrice: As Louis Armstrong said, “Music is life itself,” and the CSOA provides a huge range of great music. Orchestral music provides so many emotional, healing benefits, like reducing stress and anxiety. Learning to read music and play an instrument also helps to improve cognitive functions and problem-solving skills.
I hope the CSOA will always be around to “enrich, inspire and transform lives through music, community engagement and education — locally, nationally and internationally.”
