Mather House Senior Remembered for Love of People and Music

When one of his friends was dealing with a bout of sadness, Clarel Antoine II ’07-’09 knew how to lift his spirits.

Though it was nearing midnight and the temperature was sub-zero, Antoine hastily made his friend put on a jacket and run outside to the frozen Charles River down the street. Amid the snow and ice, the two friends stepped cautiously onto the frozen river and back to its bank. There they talked and laughed.

Antoine died unexpectedly earlier this week, and his vivacity, charisma, and empathy are among the qualities those who knew Antoine say they will miss.

“If anything really characterizes Clarel, it was how intensely he loved people,” said Antoine’s girlfriend of three years at Harvard. She asked that her name not be used because of the sensitive nature of discussing Antoine’s death.

“When we were together, a lot of times it felt like it was just the two of us in the world,” she said. “That was the way it was with all people, and that’s why he drew people to him.”

The son of immigrants, Antoine arrived at Harvard in the fall of 2003. On the cusp of completing the five-year music program, the New Jersey native was set to graduate later this month.

Second to his considerate nature, Antoine’s friends and peers say they remember most vividly his passion for music.

According to Antoine’s ex-girlfriend, he studied at the Manhattan School of Music from when he was a young child until he graduated from high school. During his year-long leave of absence in 2006-2007, he worked as a steward at the Boston Opera House, where he could watch music performances for free. Whenever the opportunity arose, he would buy as many music scores as possible.

Antoine could always find time to talk about his plans for the College’s music department, said Charles W. Altchek ’07, who had known Antoine since their freshman year at the Horace Mann School in New York, nine years ago. Altchek started a Facebook group in Antoine’s memory.

“He had all these grand ideas for the music program—how he wanted to expand the interaction between the music department and student body at Harvard,” Altchek said. “I’m sure the music world is now worse off.”

Antoine, who played the violin and piano and wanted to compose professionally, produced the Class of 2007’s freshman musical.

The stress of leading the performance could have easily consumed a person, said Daniel A. Koh ’07, who sang in the show and lived in Thayer Hall with Antoine.

But while people were tensing up about the next act, Antoine was backstage cracking jokes, making people smile and laugh, Koh said.

“He was the guy who could bring everyone together, the social glue every group needs,” Koh said.

Antoine’s inclusive personality affected even his teachers. Karola Obermüller, who used to be a teaching fellow for Music 51—a course that Antoine audited—said he never failed to be warm and welcoming.

“Once I ran into him outside of class in Central Square with my six-month-old son, Samuel,” she wrote in an e-mail. “And Clarel was so excited to see Samuel. It was very sweet.”

Antoine’s ex-girlfriend jokes that his personality often got him a free pass.
“Once he handed in his term paper two-and-a-half months late in a class, and he still got an A- on it,” she said. “Certain rules didn’t apply to Clarel. For some reason, he was the exception. He was so touching. You always wanted him to succeed—whether you were a TF, a friend, or a peer. Everyone was rooting for him.”

In addition to his larger-than-life persona, Antoine’s intellectual curiosity may explain why this always seemed to be the case.

Alexandra P. Summer ’06, who was Antoine’s prefect his freshman year, said she was impressed at how perceptive and open Antoine was. The two often discussed what it was like to grow up in the New York area.

“I was so grateful that he took the time to share his experiences with me,” she said.

Though music and people were essential to his life, Antoine had diverse interests.

He studied Spanish, French, and German. He played soccer and tennis, and he swam. During his year off, he studied to become a pastry chef while working at the local Whole Foods.

It was all a part of enriching his life, friends said.

“He wanted to make sure that he was always learning and growing and meeting new people,” Altchek said. “Any community he was a part of won’t be the same.”

Mather House Masters Sandra F. Naddaff ’75 and Leigh G. Hafrey ’73 informed the House community of Antoine’s death in an e-mail last week. Dean of the College Evelynn M. Hammonds notified the rest of the College in a subsequent e-mail.

Antoine’s family sent out an e-mail that said they would not be taking phone calls, and the cause of Antoine’s death remains undisclosed.

According to an e-mail sent to alumni of Horace Mann, the family is holding a private ceremony and is planning a memorial service. A posting on Facebook said that the memorial service has been tentatively scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, Jan. 17 in New York.

Nadaff and Hafrey are holding an informal gathering today from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Mather Senior Common Room “for all those who wish to remember Clarel Antoine.”

—Staff writer Ahmed N. Mabruk can be reached at amabruk@fas.harvard.edu.