Msgr. Tocco honored as founding
father of chamber music festival
Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published May 19, 2006
Bloomfield Hills – It takes someone with vision, imagination, drive, faith, strategy and tenacity to start a chamber music festival.
Msgr. Anthony Tocco, pastor of St. Hugo of the Hills in Bloomfield Hills, used all of those talents to lead the charge in forming the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival 13 years ago. He was recognized last month for being the founding father of the festival.
Although the annual festival is a secular celebration of music, its sponsoring groups are St. Hugo, Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church and Temple Beth-El, all in Bloomfield Hills. When Msgr. Tocco first got the idea of starting a chamber music festival after visiting two similar festivals in Italy, the advice of his brother, renowned concert pianist and instructor James Tocco, was to find a partner in a synagogue. Both institutions have a history of being dedicated to music and providing music over the centuries, Msgr. Tocco explained.
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Msgr. Anthony Tocco was recognized by the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival for his work starting the festival13 years ago. He was presented with a crystal piano. | A few years later, as pastor at St. Hugo and after the current church and parish complex was built and dedicated, he followed the advice of his brother and began discussion with Temple Beth-El about starting a music festival. It was agreed to raise money privately – without using funds from their faith communities – and each were able to each raise about $15,000 to pay the musicians the first year. At the end of that first, five-day festival, there was $38,000 in the bank from advertisers, private donations, and other sources, Msgr. Tocco said.
It grew much quicker than Msgr. Tocco expected and now, 13 years later, the festival lasts for two weeks in June, with the three major performances being held at the 688-seat Seligman Family Performing Arts Center at Detroit Country Day School. Kirk in the Hills became a partner several years ago.
Rabbi Daniel B. Syme, of Temple Beth-El, said he and Msgr. Tocco have become close friends because of their work with the festival over the years. "He is so deserving of the recognition because he is a visionary who sees his projects to reality with grace, and dignity, and kindness, and wisdom," he said.
Organizers are in the process of setting up an endowment for the festival, which now sells between 6,000 and 8,000 tickets over its course. It is now also sponsored by the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings.
 What is chamber music?Chamber music is a form of classical music written for a small group of instruments in a small space. String quartets are the most popular, but music exists for other instrumental combinations, too.
| In addition to the celebration of music, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival brings different faiths into each other's places of worship, during the smaller performances, for the sake of music, Msgr. Tocco said. "Music has broken down religious barriers," he said.
The three faith leaders have had discussions together and hold a Thanksgiving service together as a result of the festival, he said.
In the past, the festival has honored those who have large leadership roles, such as the first festival chair. Msgr. Tocco, whose favorite chamber music composers are Mozart and Prokofiev, said he's pleased for the recognition.
"It's a moment in history that tells me at least people will remember I was key at the beginning of this festival," he said.
It is a lot of work, but "I would be very bored if I didn't work," he said. In addition to being the pastor at St. Hugo since 1985, he's also headed the restoration of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament and chairs the fundraising committee for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Msgr. Tocco credits the festival's success to his brother James, who's been the artistic director since the festival's beginning. He was able to use his reputation to bring talented artists from all over the country and Europe to the festival, Msgr. Tocco said.
"Without him, the festival would not have gotten off the ground," he said.
Msgr. Tocco said his brother is a genius at the piano. Although Msgr. Tocco started playing at age 5, and was pretty good by age 9 when his brother James was 5 and started playing, within six months his brother was playing things the elder Tocco couldn't even sight-read. Their parents graciously let Msgr. Tocco quit his piano lessons so the two wouldn't be in competition, and the brothers remain good friends, Msgr. Tocco said.
Msgr. Tocco also attributed a lot of the success to executive director Maury Okun, as he does the "nitty-gritty work" and makes the festival functional, Msgr. Tocco said. Okun called Msgr. Tocco a "champion of the festival" and said it was his tenacity and willingness to dedicate the time and energy needed early on that got the festival going.
Okun said partnering with other religious institutions was a catalyst for the festival's growth and attributed Msgr. Tocco with seeking out strong board leadership, which helped Okun with running the festival. "It was like someone handing me the keys to a Ferrari and saying, 'Here, go drive it,'" he said.
The next challenge Msgr. Tocco sees for the music festival is trying to get young people interested in classical music. "Not a whole lot of young people come to our concerts," he said. "They don't think it belongs to them. But great music belongs to everyone."
This year's festival includes the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings; the Ciompi String Quartet, of Duke University; soprano Audrey Luna; celloist Paul Katz; violinist Ani Kavafian; and pianist Wu Han. Dates are June 10-25. Visit www.greatlakeschambermusic.com.
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