PROFILES IN ARTS ACTIVISM ~
Fred Patella
- Fred working his magic on an antique Steinway at Christie’s Galleries
The multi-talented Fred Patella is one of the many people working behind the scenes to make sure Sing for Hope events are pitch-perfect. In addition to his busy schedule tuning pianos for The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fred donates his tuning services for all Sing for Hope concerts in New York City.
Fred, a Boosey and Hawkes-published composer and the owner of Con Sordino Piano Services, is an active fundraiser for Sing for Hope, offering new and returning clients the opportunity to have their pianos tuned for free upon their tax-deductible donation of $150 to Sing for Hope.
In 2009, Fred will also partner with Sing for Hope to offer his clients a program featuring artists from the Sing for Hope roster. The program, After Dinner Music, was inspired partly by the number of times in which Fred works on a magnificent instrument and hears a client express regret that no one has time to play. After Dinner Music will offer private home concerts for the benefit of Sing for Hope — musical evenings that promise to be, as Fred notes, both good for the piano and good for the world!
“Although I don’t come from a lineage of musicians, I’ve been very lucky in my life, having experienced musical encouragement since childhood,” says Fred. “I came to the realization early on that my greatest satisfactions related to working in music have always been in a service capacity. Even my work in composition often results as a utility to serve the repertoire needs of one or another ensemble or artist.”
“I know from experience that having an art form as a basis for a regular way of life and as a language enables one to continuously think freely and optimistically. The very words ‘Sing for Hope’ are uplifting and optimistic, and the organization’s work addresses the vitality of emotional and intellectual nutrition where it might otherwise be overlooked. When I combine my thrill for even the very small role I play for SFH with my admiration for the organization, it isn’t hard to see why I participate.”
If you are interested in having After Dinner Music in your home, or if you would like to have Fred bring his masterful tuning to your instrument with all proceeds supporting Sing for Hope, please contact Sing for Hope at info@singforhope.org or 212.966.5955. Give a much-appreciated gift (tax-deductibly!) to both Sing for Hope and your piano!
This article is the second in a series written for Sing for Hope by donor artist Kelley Rourke (Dramaturg, Glimmerglass Opera; Editor, OPERA America Magazine).
To read more PROFILES IN ARTS ACTIVISM, click here.
