A Belated Farewell

I sat down to write about this a couple of times, but it never came out quite right. So I guess I will try again.

Patrick Flynn, the music director and conductor of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, passed away in California.

I didn't know Patrick very well, but we had met and worked together a handful of times. The first time we met, Dan McGee (Executive Director of the SBSO) brought Patrick to my studio in Bay City. It was, more or less, my audition for Patrick—a chance for him to meet me and see if he would be comfortable working with me on the SBSO materials for the season.

I liked Patrick from the moment we shook hands. Here he was, a conductor of the American Ballet Theatre, a man who has worked with Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Maestro, right?

Hardly. In his untucked flannel shirt and work boots, he looked like he could be coming off the line at GM. The only clue that he was, in fact, not just your average guy was his British accent.

Our first meeting went great. Patrick had this charisma that put you instantly at ease. He was passionate about music, but had a great sense of humor which included a healthy self-depracating streak (he referred to his SBSO headshot as his "Count Dracula" picture).

At our first meeting, we drank some Earl Grey and Patrick did a lot of the talking, sharing stories with Dan and myself. My favorite was the story he told of the first time he worked with Baryshnikov at the American Ballet Theatre. The story itself isn't as interesting to read as it was to hear Patrick tell, complete with his English-accent-doing-a-Russian-accent impression of Baryshnikov.

Patrick also had a background in advertising, composing music for commercials for an international ad agency based in Australia (his Aussie accent was great, too). He understood advertising and since I had an advertising background, he treated me like an insider.

Our working relationship was great. He'd come down to the studio with an SBSO entourage and we'd look at proofs and make changes on screen while he sat here. I really did enjoy the times he came into the studio and I think he did, too. He always said how much he liked the look and feel of the studio—that was very nice to hear.

I was lucky enough to see Patrick perform last spring (which is when I shot the photo above). Seeing a great artist in his element—be it a musician, a painter, a dancer—is always inspiring to me. And watching Patrick conduct was no different. A combination of elegance, showmanship and playfulness came out of him while he was on stage.

Even though I didn't know Patrick well enough to consider myself a friend of his, I really did enjoy working with him and I was very saddened to hear of his passing. When he came to Saginaw, he had a lot to do with the revival of the Orchestra and his time here will leave a mark on the Tri-Cities—and myself—for years to come.