Matthew Mantell

Matt Mantell passed away on September 28, 2019 following a courageous yearlong battle with cancer. He was a professional violinist and violist who worked in and around Chicago for about 40 years.

Matt was born in Chicago in 1959 but his parents moved to Orland Park when he was just 1 year old. He first learned to play the violin at High Point Elementary School in the late '60s, when they had just started an orchestra program. He was immediately captivated and showed ability right away. He took private violin lessons from that point on, and played in the Carl Sandburg H S orchestra as well as with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra downtown.

Although Matt continued to study the violin in college, he decided to major in viola and received a Bachelors of Music degree in Viola Performance from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. During college he started teaching private violin and viola students from his parents' home in Orland Park in order to pay his college tuition.

After college, Matt began a long and successful career as a performer and teacher. He held the position of principal viola with Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, and Chicago Opera Theater; assistant principal viola with Chicago Sinfonietta and Lake Forest Sym, and he substituted with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Grant Park Sym, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Matt was also the long time viola faculty and program director of the symphony session at Birch Creek Music Festival (Door County WI), a summer orchestra program for advanced high school students.

His reputation as a much sought-after violin and viola teacher grew, and many of his students went on to become successful performers or music educators themselves.

Matt was an institution in the greater Chicago music community. Not only was he a fine musician, but he was a warmhearted, funny, and welcoming presence at every gig. He got along with everyone, from conductors to colleagues to his adoring students. Matt was the consummate mentor to decades of students. Somehow he integrated into their lessons a mixture of discipline, zaniness, life lessons, and of course musical artistry. He would proudly tape announcements of all his students' achievements to his studio door until it was a messy but cheerful collage over the years.

Matt was married to his wife Emily (a cellist) for 33 years. Their daughter Sonia is also a professional cellist.

Matt led a truly joyful life, doing what he loved. His legacy will be remembered by the many lives he touched.

A memorial celebration of Matt's life was held at the Mantell's home on October 25. Close to 300 friends - almost all musicians - came and went before and after rehearsals and performances to share their fondest memories of a beloved friend and musician.