Fifty-five years of wedded bliss, and WSO patronage!

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Fifty-five years of wedded bliss, and WSO patronage!

Fifty-five years of wedded bliss, and WSO patronage!
Once the music started…they were transported

The year was 1969, and while many young Windsorites were checking out the big rock ‘n’ roll acts of the day at the Elmwood Casino and Detroit’s famed Grande Ballroom, a courting couple by the names of Gerry and Rosemary were sneaking away to the Cleary Auditorium on Riverside Drive to check out the biggest band in town — the Windsor Symphony Orchestra.

Long-time WSO patrons Rosemary and Gerry Marentette. Left 1967. Right 2019.

When they celebrate 55 years of marriage on Jan. 31, 2025, Gerry and Rosemary Marentette will also be marking 55 years of continuous WSO patronage.

“It was an ideal destination for a date,” says Gerry, whose interest in classical music began with his family’s phonograph and his mother’s classical music records. As a teenager, Gerry and his friends created a table-top game using small model soldiers. Each player was responsible for providing a different classical music composer to accompany the game. Gerry chose Beethoven and his interest in orchestral music deepened.

The memory of that first performance they attended together at the Cleary Auditorium (now the St. Clair Centre for the Arts) has receded into the years, but the magic of live orchestral music was habit forming: “Being season ticket holders for over fifty years is one of the wisest choices we’ve made in our life,” Rosemary said of their patronage.

Over that period Gerry and Rosemary have enjoyed both the pops and classical series, have migrated to the WSO’s current home at the Capitol Theatre, have experienced the advent of outdoor concerts in parks and at the riverfront, and never miss a holiday season performance of Handel’s Messiah. Rosemary has kept several of the programs from performances over the years, as well as their tickets stubs, as keepsakes.

They’ve also experienced a wide range of WSO conductors like Laszlo Gati, Susan Haig, and John Morris Russell, each maestro bringing their unique musical talent and personality to the position. Giving props to current conductor Robert Franz, Gerry says: “I love a conductor with a sense of humour!”

What keeps them coming back?

We feel music is a language that crosses barriers, with the power to unite hearts and renew the human spirit,” Rosemary said. “We have experienced this through the past fifty-five years. In our early years of marriage, often tired and busy with little ones, symphony night would bring out two tired parents… but once the music began we were transported.”
Please join the entire WSO family in wishing Gerry and Rosemary Marentette a happy 55th anniversary!

Various programs and ticket stubs the Marentettes have kept over the years.