The SSO’s longest-serving music director died Thursday, Jan. 7, of cancer while listening to a Brahms string quartet. He was 72.
“He went all the way through the piece with me,” said his wife of 40 years, Marcia, “then let go.”
In the SSO’s 67-year history, Ferritto was its musical leader for 30 of those years.
“He could be very intense when it was a piece that was close to his heart. He could lead us to incredible performances of them,” recalled Colvin Bear, who joined the SSO horn section in 1973.
A performance of “Carmina Burana” in Memorial Hall sticks out in Bear’s mind.
That drive from a young maestro in his prime kept local audiences coming back.
“They knew good and well they could’ve gone to Columbus to hear a more technically proficient performance,” Bear said. “But the intensity couldn’t be beat.”
A Cleveland native, Ferritto not only took the most bows, he took them in the most places, leading the SSO from Memorial Hall to North High School to Kuss Auditorium.
Ferritto held onto his post even as he moved back to northeast Ohio, where he took over as head of the Kent State University composition department in 1983.
He also was a man who loved his Cleveland Indians and classic movies.
“Who was the first Tarzan?” asked longtime SSO trombonist Ian Polster. “He could tell you. He could also tell you who the director was. It was just uncanny.”
A funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 11, at St. Mary’s Church in Hudson.
About the Author