Symphony fund honors UNC student Eric Metcalf who died in climbing accident

Eric Metcalf loved listening to classical music so much that as a freshman, he would go to North Carolina Symphony shows in Raleigh by himself.

“He was very much an artist and an appreciator and supporter of the arts,” said Jim Metcalf, his dad.

Eric Metcalf was a UNC sophomore when he died in July 2012 in a rock climbing accident. He was 19.

In honor of his passion for classical music, his family has started the Eric Metcalf Seats for Students Fund in collaboration with the N.C. Symphony.

The endowed fund started collecting donations last Friday. Jim Metcalf said the fund has already raised thousands of dollars.

The fund will provide free seats for Friday night Classical Concerts in Raleigh for a select number of students and their parent or guardian. The symphony will work with local schools to identify students who qualify.

Jim Metcalf said his family created the fund to make the arts accessible to young people.

“You never know what is going to reach down inside of a young person and turn on a switch that makes them excited about something.

“There are no restrictions — any person who says, ‘Hey, I want to go see the symphony,’ I want them to go see it. That’s what I did for my sons,” he said.

Eric Metcalf played the viola and piano and was a part of the Triangle Youth Philharmonic, an advanced orchestra sponsored by the N.C. Symphony.

His dad said his son’s musical talent was stunning.

“His musical expression was perhaps some of the most heartfelt and deepest many people have seen,” he said. “My older son, Steve, who is also so musically gifted, told me that Eric had more talent in his little finger than he did in his entire body.”

He said Eric Metcalf would have appreciated the fund.

“Going to the symphony makes music-making seem accessible for a kid and that if they practice, they could wind up on stage doing the same thing.

“I think he would have been thrilled with the fact that he passed on to other people his love of symphony music,” he said.

Pat Browning, director of major gifts for the N.C. Symphony, said she helped create the fund.

“I was thinking of ways we might be able to use Eric’s story to do something his family would be proud of and carry on what Eric stood for,” she said.

She said the N.C. Symphony will start operating the program as soon as the appropriate funds have been raised.

Austin Duncan, who was Eric Metcalf’s roommate his freshman year, said Metcalf loved classical music to the point that he could identify most songs by only their notes.

“The only CDs in his car were classical CDs,” he said. “He had a box set of 50 CDs of just Bach, and whenever we would ride around, we were jamming to classical music.”

Jim Metcalf said he hopes his son’s love of music will become his legacy.

“His academic skills and credentials, his skepticism, his insightfulness, his physical abilities — all those pale in comparison to what he could achieve in a musical fashion.”

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