‘An unstoppable force’: Renowned conductor Boris Brott remembered with both sadness and humour
Musicians in a string ensemble raised their bows and began to play.
A funeral service for renowned conductor Boris Brott began with Samuel Barber's famed Adagio for Strings, a sorrowful arrangement in a minor key.
His brother, musician Denis Brott, played the cello.
Boris was an unstoppable force, a geyser, a tidal wave, a well from which water never ran dry. He was inexorable. He passionately believed in his mission and the power of music to change us all for the better, and nothing would stop him in his quest," Dennis said in a teary tribute. We are all stunned and frozen, our mouths aghast in that silent scream of grief and sorrow. How could this have happened?"
Boris, a Hamiltonian and former Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra conductor, was killed in a hit-and-run Tuesday.
What happened to my brother last Tuesday morning is senseless and beyond belief," Denis said. Everyone that knew Boris or was touched by him is in a state of shock."
A funeral for the Montreal-born maestro was held Sunday at the Temple Anshe Sholom in Hamilton. The service was also streamed on Zoom, where dozens of messages of condolences, memories and gratitude poured in.
Eulogies elicited both laughter and tears.
Denis recounted memories from their childhood which was shaped by music. At age three, Boris began to play the violin and was subject to their mother's meticulous scheduling.
When he could manage to play a few notes in a row, she organized the concert in the living room, lining up all his teddy bears as replicas of his future audience, donning them each with a different coloured bow tie," he said. It obviously impressed him."
A bow tie - often bright and patterned - was part of Boris' signature look.
On the way up to the podium, his son, David Brott, handed Rabbi Jordan Cohen a blue bow tie, which he wore for the rest of the service.
My dad was a presence and he made his presence known. He owned pretty much every room he was ever in ... Even this room," David said. But it was the way he was outside the concert hall that really made him who he was. For myself, my brother, my sister, especially my mother, he was just a lovable goofball who would not shut up."
At this, a crowd of about 250 people filled the synagogue with laughter.
Hamilton mayor Fred Eisenberger and Taras Kulish, executive director of Orchestre classique de Montreal - where Boris was artistic director - and journalist Steve Paikin were among the other speakers.
He was not only a giant in classic music, he was also a giant for promoting and building Hamilton, and his efforts over the decades helped lift our community to new heights," Eisenberger said.
Also in the pews were Ontario's lieutenant-governor, Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Hamilton police chief Frank Bergen and many other dignitaries and community leaders - too many to recognize by name," Cohen said.
As the casket was loaded into the hearse outside the synagogue, Boris' wife, Ardyth Brott, gave a slight wave goodbye, conductor's baton in hand.
Boris will be buried in Montreal at a later day, according to the United Hebrew Memorial Chapel of Hamilton's website.
Those wishing to make a donation in Boris' name can give to the Brott Music Festival.
- with files from John Rennison
Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com