Fifteen years ago when my wife and I had season tickets to the Academy of Music, we looked forward to seeing and chatting with Antoinette Marie DuBiel, an assistant head usher who was as much a part of the experience as the Philadelphia Orchestra’s violins and oboes. DuBiel was short, but with a high-rise silvery bouffant hairdo and an equally unforgettable personality and smile.
“My husband and daughter were both ushers,” she once told me before directing my wife and me to our seats. “I love this music so much I can never hear it too often. I feel blessed that I am able to hear one of the best orchestras in the world night after night. I was a pretty good pianist myself, and I considered a possible career in classical music, but that did not work out for a number of reasons. But my job is the next best thing.”
DuBiel died of age-related ailments on Sept. 8. She was 89. DuBiel (née Socci) grew up in Germantown. Her father, Lodemiro Socci — who immigrated to the United States from Italy — and mother, Anna Greco, ran a hair salon.
DuBiel was raised in Chestnut Hill, attending Hallahan High School for Girls and Chestnut Hill College, where she majored in piano performance. She and her late husband Ed lived in Chestnut Hill from the 1960s until 2000. Their daughter, Mia, attended the Springside School for Girls, now Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.
Before graduating from Chestnut Hill College in 1996, DuBiel operated a series of businesses in Chestnut Hill: Coiffures by Antoinette and DuBiel Uniforms of Chestnut Hill, both at 8611 Germantown Ave., and Renaissance Real Estate Company, where she was a sales associate, at 8100 Germantown Ave. After closing Coiffures by Antoinette, she also worked for Janine Dwyer at Janine Salon de Coiffure, a long-time staple at 8432 Germantown Ave.
Dwyer told the Local, “My grandfather, Henri, hired Antoinette for his hair salon in 1964. She later left to open her own salon, and then I hired her in 1994, and she worked here until January of this year. I’ve known her all my life, and she even helped raise my kids. She did the hair of the Chestnut Hill local ladies. ... It was so much fun being with her. Antoinette said she never told people at the Kimmel Center that she did hair in her day job. She said, ‘I don’t want people there asking me what to do with their hair.’”
The DuBiels moved to Center City so they could be closer to the Academy of Music and Kimmel Center (now called Ensemble Arts).
“Although they loved Chestnut Hill,” DuBiel’s niece, Linda Cruz-Carnall, told the Local, “It was just too much for Antoinette to get off from the concerts at 11 p.m. and then go home ... but Antoinette still visited Chestnut Hill weekly.”
DuBiel announced her retirement as an usher in January of this year as well, after 30 years of service. Staff members, ushers, volunteers, and donors gathered in the Kimmel Center to honor her. Reflecting on how much she would be missed, the venue’s director of audience experience, Lindsay Berckman, wrote on Linkedin, “Antoinette is comfort. You see her, and you know you’re in the right place. You’re at a Philadelphia Orchestra performance. Antoinette’s warmth and dedication have made every performance special, shaping the experience for both audiences and staff. She is the heart of our front-of-house family, and we will truly miss her warm smile in the lobby.”
Before one orchestra performance, I asked DuBiel if audiences had changed over the years that she was an usher. She replied, “For one thing, two decades ago, it was harder to get a seat. There were more sellouts, but I am hopeful when I see young people in the audience that they will spread the word and bring their own children in the years to come. Also, people are dressing more casually now. And of course, cellphones, which did not exist when I started. Every so often, a person forgets to turn off their phone, and if it rings, it is very distracting.”
DuBiel was predeceased by her husband Ed and brother Lawrence. In addition to daughter Mia, DuBiel is survived by grandson Michael Dale Rogers and siblings Louisa C. Vizcaino, Emillo, and Salvatore. Funeral services were held Sept. 20 at The Old St. Joseph’s Church in Society Hill. All attendees were asked to wear something purple, Antoinette’s favorite color. “When [the funeral] information was posted online,” Cruz-Carnall said, “more than 200 people responded.”
In lieu of flowers, donations in DuBiel’s memory may be sent to the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, Attn: Joseph Sinkus, 1 S. Broad St., 14th floor, Philadelphia., PA 19107.
Len Lear can be reached at LenLear@chestnuthilllocal.com.
