IN MEMORIAM – FREDERICK E. SEWELL

FEBRUARY 15, 2025 – In these times of great rancor and bitter despair; division and anxiety, we must celebrate the people whose life works exemplify humanity at its best. This afternoon I found myself[1] among 200 people in just such a celebration inside Westminster Hall at the sprawling campus of Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Minneapolis. For what a clock would measure as 90 minutes, time stood perfectly still as we remembered and heralded the life of a most extraordinary human being, Frederick Eliot Sewell. I don’t know how the event could have better captured the essence of this quintessential Renaissance man, whose long life (92 years) so enriched this world.

I first heard of Fred when I was a young kid growing up in Anoka, Minnesota. His uncle and namesake, Fred Moore (brother of Fred Sewell’s mother), and Aunt Ruth lived across the street from us and were close friends of my parents. “Uncle Fred” was irrepressibly proud of his nephew Fred, a highly gifted violinist who’d studied with the world famous violin pedagogue, Ivan Galamian, at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and at Meadowmount, Galamian’s summer “camp” (in the Adirondacks) pour la crème de la crème . . . de la crème de la crème.[2]

After Curtis, Fred joined the Navy and was concertmaster of the Navy Orchestra. Soon after that gig, Fred married his wife, the inimitable Gloria Benham, a tour de force in her own right, who, with her usual grace and charm, orchestrated and presided over today’s event. After they were married in 1957, Fred brought Gloria back to his home ground—the Twin Cities—where he continued his musical career (freelancing with the top ensembles of our town; usually as concertmaster and serving in that position for 30 years with the Minnesota Opera). He later succeeded his father, uncles and cousins in ownership and management of the Cole Sewell Door Company, which at the end of Fred’s long and prosperous business career was sold to Pella Windows.

Fred’s integrity, hard work, respect for his employees, and broad business acumen yielded the resources to give in abundance back to the community—via music, philanthropy and his amazingly talented and accomplished son, founder of the James Sewell Ballet Company, and daughter, professional cellist Laura. Gloria likewise served in these three capacities, much in the way that my good friends Linda Lovas Hoeschler and the great late Jack Hoeschler[3] did—often in tandem with Fred and Gloria.

Though always kind, gentle, genuine, cheerful, respectful in thought, words and action, Fred never treaded water or waded around close to shore. If he decided to get his feet wet, he took the plunge into deep waters. He was laser-focused, whether leading a string quartet of players from the Minneapolis Symphony (now Minnesota Orchestra), coaching his kids as budding musicians, sailing a keelboat (and racing it, too), piloting a plane cross-country, playing golf or tennis (all the way to 90), building fine furniture or model airplanes.

I got to know Fred quite well during my stint as a fellow member of the board of directors of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Managing a world class chamber orchestra requires a rare skill set, and oversight of that management—the role of the board—likewise demands a combination of non-profit organizational understanding and, just as critically, a refined appreciation for the art form around which all the stakeholders gather. In this regard—serving as a board member—Fred was a walking winning Bingo card. Given his musical background and prowess, he knew better than any other board member exactly what was required of the ensemble to produce a world class performance of musical masterpieces across the full arc of Western music from early Baroque to cutting edge contemporary. Moreover, Fred had the ears to distinguish between “great” and “exceptional,” and it was this level of refinement in his role as an active board member that was the hallmark of his long-standing support of America’s only full-time chamber orchestra.

Today’s event encapsulated to perfection, the essence and memory of that great man, Fred Sewell. At the outset we were treated to a 2006 recording featuring Fred, his daughter Laura, and the late great Thelma Hunter playing the Presto from Haydn’s Trio in C. The program continued to soar with Gloria’s welcoming remarks; Souvenirs, a hauntingly gorgeous piece by Poulenc performed by Laura with Ivan Konev; tributes by four of Fred and Gloria’s grandchildren (including Laura’s memories of Fred) interspersed among more phenomenal musical numbers—the Andante from Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in d minor[4] (Laura, Ivan, and Steven Copes, brilliant concertmaster of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and close friend of Fred; Rondo; Allegro from Mozart’s Quartet for Oboe and Strings in F Major (Cassie Pilgrim – principal oboist, SPCO (endowed Sewell Family Chair); Laura; Stephen; Maiya Papich, principal violist, SPCO; and Zach Cohen, principal bass, SPCO; and The Parting Kiss (from Six British Folk Songs) by the late Paul Schoenfeld[5]. Then came a special tribute by James Sewell (James Sewell Ballet) featuring spoken memories and a dance piece choreographed to Nimrod from Elgar’s Enigma Variations, in which James wore a pair of Fred’s shoes and incorporated a shawl and a wheelchair, symbolizing Fred’s means of locomotion in his last two years.

Given Gloria’s choral background and her and Fred’s involvement with the premiere choral ensembles in the Twin Cities, her special selection for the penultimate piece on the program was Erbarme dich, mein Gott from Bach’s St. Matthew Passion—quite possibly the most divine work ever composed by a mortal. The alto voice solo was performed by Cassie Pilgrim, the oboist (along with the performers of the Mozart (above), plus Nina Fan and Eunice Kim of the SPCO).

After Gloria’s closing remarks, we were treated to Laura and Ivan’s rendition of Benediction by the late Stephen Paulus.

On my way home, I savored fresh recollection of the celebration. I also pondered my continuing gratitude for Fred and Gloria’s kindness toward me three years ago. During my “medical expedition,” when my condition and energy were severely compromised, Gloria supplied me regularly with her magical chicken soup. She’d call ahead, and less than a half hour later, she and Fred would pull up to our house with the delivery. I so welcomed their appearance, their encouragement, and of course, the chicken soup. Their kind generosity fed my understanding of gratitude.

That’s what I felt again today; enormous gratitude—not only for the enrichment that Fred Sewell had brought to my life, but for his immeasurable contributions to making this planet a better place. His voice and violin might now lie silent, but his positive influences will play on, woven into the fabric of all that is good about the human race and record.

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© 2025 by Eric Nilsson

[1] Beth’s convalescence from back surgery prevented her from attending with me.

[2] My sister Elsa, 19 years Fred’s junior, wound up following his musical footsteps—also attending Curtis, studying with Galamian and attending Meadowmount. Elsa and her husband Chuck (retired principal bassoonist in the SPCO) were close friends of Fred and attended today’s celebration too. After the event, she said she believes that the first she’d heard of Curtis (as a young violin student) was through that early connection with the Moores and Fred Moore’s mention of his nephew Fred, “the talented violinist who’d gone to Curtis.”

[3] See June 23, 2022 post.

[4] This is one of my all-time favorite pieces to play. I’d first worked on it my junior year at Interlochen Arts Academy. Decades later, I chose this for one of our winter house concert series, “Fiddler under the Roof,” and hired Laura for the cello part. She is every bit as gracious—and musically talented—as her parents. It was very much an honor and privilege to play that trio with her and our piano collaborator, Sally Scoggin.

[5] When I was planning a recital for the Landmark Center in St. Paul and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, both in June 1984, I’d asked Jack Hoeschler for a pianist-collaborator referral. He mentioned Thelma Hunter, whom I promptly contacted. She was too booked-up, however, even to hear me play before turning me down. I then asked my sister Elsa, who recommended Paul Schoenfeld. Paul turned out to be an excellent choice. He wound up as much my coach as my accompanist, and thanks to his input and dedication, my performances were greatly enhanced from how they would have otherwise sounded.