The chemistry of music - Fred Pattison’s journey through science and song

It’s a philosophy that has served Dr. Pattison well. By his own admission, he has lived “the most fascinating life,” following his heart and embracing any adventure that came his way.

Growing up in Scotland, Dr. Pattison had two passions – chemistry and music. And while chemistry won out on the professional front, the piano remained a constant in his life.

He has paid tribute to both, endowing the chemistry department’s Fred Pattison Senior Lectureship - now in its 17th year – and the brand new Fred Pattison Piano Competition at the Don Wright Faculty of Music.

“When I was a teenager, it was a question of trying to decide between music and chemistry,” he recalls. “It was a difficult decision, but the general feeling was that chemistry is great for making one’s livelihood and that music is great for a hobby. So that was the decision I made.”

Dr. Pattison graduated from the University of Cambridge with a PhD in organic chemistry in 1947. He then set out for Canada, spending a year as a lecturer at Dalhousie University. The highlight of his time in Halifax? Performing live piano recitals for CBC Radio.

“There was no pre-recording in those days,” Dr. Pattison remembers. “You sat in the studio, the red light went on, and you knew that you were live right across the country with an audience of half-a-million.”

Another CBC program about Canadian cities inspired Dr. Pattison to send a letter of introduction to the University of Western Ontario’s fledgling chemistry department. When he joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1948, Western was a teaching school with around 2,000 students. “I was single at the time, so I ate along with the students and pretty much knew the whole student body,” he says.

Dr. Pattison established the department’s PhD program, became professor and department head in 1959 and was awarded an ScD by the University of Cambridge.
But instead of settling in to professorial life, Dr. Pattison decided to change careers. “I thoroughly enjoyed chemistry and going to conferences around the world, but the urge to study medicine was becoming stronger and stronger. I felt that I had to put up or shut up.”

So, at the age of 42 he said goodbye to faculty lounge lunches and became a first year medical student. “It was an interesting exchange,” he admits. “I brown bagged it with my fellow students, went to all the parties, and enjoyed it very much.”

After graduation, Dr. Pattison accepted a two-year posting with the International Grenfell Association, providing solo medical care for around 6,000 people scattered along 120 miles of Newfoundland’s North Atlantic coast.

His wife Anne and a brand new piano made the long trip to the village of Roddickton. “Eaton’s (department store) said they delivered anywhere in Canada. They didn’t know what they were letting themselves in for,” he chuckles.

“I love the rugged life,” explains Dr. Pattison, who often traveled by snowmobile, helicopter or boat to reach his patients. “And after the appropriate time, we had a lot of friends. They don’t make friends easily in Newfoundland, but once you’re in, you’re in for life.”

The family returned to London in 1973. Dr. Pattison joined Western’s student health services, holding the position of director at his retirement in 1988. During the same period, he was also director of the Middlesex-London Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic.

And although he had not had any formal connection to the chemistry department since his resignation in 1965, Dr. Pattison decided to honour his former faculty. The annual Fred Pattison Senior Lectureship series began in 1992 and continues to attract preeminent scholars from around the world.

“This lectureship is not just for the faculty, it’s also for the students,” says Chemistry Chair, Dr. Kim Baines. “That is very important to Fred, and it’s very important to us.” Speakers spend three days at Western, talking organic chemistry with everyone from first-year students to full professors, she says.

Dr. Pattison also wanted to thank Western for all the wonderful concerts he enjoyed on campus over the years. “Yehudi Menuhin, Jacqueline Du Pré, Daniel Barenboim, Joan Sutherland - they were all at Western. What a privilege to have seen them,” he says.
Endowing an annual piano competition was the perfect way to encourage budding young musicians to “reach for the top,” he says. The inaugural event was won by 21 year-old Neal Cabigon this January.

Cabigon took home a $4,500 prize and will perform a solo recital during orientation week this coming September. And at the end of next year, he will face the same dilemma that challenged Dr. Pattison so many years ago.

“After I finish my music degree I’m going to see if I can get back into medicine,” says Cabigon, who completed his med school pre-requisites at the University of Regina before transferring to Western for music. “It’s an internal struggle I have. But piano is a rather ambitious career goal.  As long as I don’t lose my love for music, I think I’ll be happy.”

After all, Dr. Pattison’s scientific career may be behind him, but he still plays chamber music with friends.