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Honouring the Memory of Jack and Mary Arneaud

Theresa Arneaud still thinks about her mother Mary, who died 10 years ago, every day.

"My parents were Symphony subscribers for decades, never missing a concert unless they weren’t in the city," she says. Paying tribute to her parents with a donation toward this concert just felt like the right way to honour their memory, she explains.

Dr. John (Jack) and Mary Arneaud were Haligonians who emigrated from Trinidad in 1969. John was a pathologist for the Camp Hill Hospital, now part of the QEII Health Sciences Centre, and Mary – raising five children – soon joined the Symphony's women's auxiliary which eventually morphed into the Women For Music Society, whose fundraising to this day supports classical music in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Theresa remembers her mother working very long hours at the Women For Music annual book sales. "It started in the Chebucto School with the books in the basement, and the older women would complain about schlepping the books upstairs," she laughs. It became much better when they moved to the Halifax Forum, she says, where sales increased considerably.

"My parents loved going to the Symphony," says Theresa. It wasn't just to attend a 'concert', but an experience. "Part of it was getting ready, getting all dolled up, as well as attending with friends." Discussion with the artists and learning about the performers was also an important part of their evening. "My mother would say, 'Open your ears. Be open to hearing music. Be open to hearing the emotion that is being conveyed. It's a story that's been told through the music'."

Music was always playing in the Arneaud household. Theresa remembers a night at home listening to a CBC evening radio program hosted by Leon Cole, Holly Cole's father. "Mom loved it all. Jazz, the classics, blues." When Holly Cole's first album came out, Theresa says, Leon played it on air and expressed pride in his daughter's achievement. "I remember Mum really liking that."

There are two maple trees planted side-by-side in the Camp Hill Memorial Garden, a living tribute to her parents and how proud they were to be Canadian. If you believe that trees can sense the sounds of joyous music, then you know those two will be swaying gently to this holiday performance.

Thank you Arneaud family for your generous support of the Symphony in memory of your parents.

Honouring the Memory of Jack and Mary Arneaud

Theresa Arneaud still thinks about her mother Mary, who died 10 years ago, every day.

"My parents were Symphony subscribers for decades, never missing a concert unless they weren’t in the city," she says. Paying tribute to her parents with a donation toward this concert just felt like the right way to honour their memory, she explains.

Dr. John (Jack) and Mary Arneaud were Haligonians who emigrated from Trinidad in 1969. John was a pathologist for the Camp Hill Hospital, now part of the QEII Health Sciences Centre, and Mary – raising five children – soon joined the Symphony's women's auxiliary which eventually morphed into the Women For Music Society, whose fundraising to this day supports classical music in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Theresa remembers her mother working very long hours at the Women For Music annual book sales. "It started in the Chebucto School with the books in the basement, and the older women would complain about schlepping the books upstairs," she laughs. It became much better when they moved to the Halifax Forum, she says, where sales increased considerably.

"My parents loved going to the Symphony," says Theresa. It wasn't just to attend a 'concert', but an experience. "Part of it was getting ready, getting all dolled up, as well as attending with friends." Discussion with the artists and learning about the performers was also an important part of their evening. "My mother would say, 'Open your ears. Be open to hearing music. Be open to hearing the emotion that is being conveyed. It's a story that's been told through the music'."

Music was always playing in the Arneaud household. Theresa remembers a night at home listening to a CBC evening radio program hosted by Leon Cole, Holly Cole's father. "Mom loved it all. Jazz, the classics, blues." When Holly Cole's first album came out, Theresa says, Leon played it on air and expressed pride in his daughter's achievement. "I remember Mum really liking that."

There are two maple trees planted side-by-side in the Camp Hill Memorial Garden, a living tribute to her parents and how proud they were to be Canadian. If you believe that trees can sense the sounds of joyous music, then you know those two will be swaying gently to this holiday performance.

Thank you Arneaud family for your generous support of the Symphony in memory of your parents.