When Eric and Judy Stein discovered the Focal Point in the early 1980s, they found themselves a second home and an extended family.
At that point, the presenting organization was only a few years old, birthed out of the long-running Music Folk shop in 1975 before moving to another facility in Webster Groves in 1992. The Steins served in a host of roles during those moves and growth periods, both as official board members of the musical nonprofit and as spiritual overseers of the Focal Point’s home/performance venue, located since 2000 at 2720 Sutton Boulevard in Maplewood.
Over the years, Eric Stein was behind the sound board for hundreds — if not thousands — of performances at the Focal Point’s various homes, working in that capacity until this past June. It was then that a series of doctor’s visits turned up the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
In excellent health until that time, Stein, 81, succumbed to the effects of the cancer on Friday, August 25. He’s survived by his wife Judy and sons David Stein, Jonah Landman and Ben Stein, plus the tight-knit group of volunteers and programmers at the folk-and-roots oriented Focal Point.
With a varied, multi-disciplinary background, Stein’s interests led him naturally into live sound work. At the Focal Point, a true listening room, he made his mark on multiple levels. He set up the sound system and trained his associate sound engineers; he also worked behind the scenes as a grant writer. On the rare nights when he wasn’t actively taking part in a show’s production, he was a friendly presence.
While it’s his role at the Focal Point that introduced him to many, his son David notes his other achievements, saying he was “a college-level math and physics teacher and electrical and aerospace engineer for McDonnell Douglas during the Gemini space capsule project. He was also dean of education at Ranken Technical College, known for writing much of the curriculum that they still use today.”
He didn’t seek out work at other venues, but David says that with his reputation, “People would hire him out for gigs. But he always appreciated coming back to the Focal Point, a room specially designed by him.”
Even during the height of Covid, the Steins helped manage to keep Focal Point active. They hosted frequent front yard concerts at their own University City home. They also supported the buildout of a stage behind the Focal Point for outdoor performances, while allowing for some indoor, audience-free live streams, too, including the Fresh Produce beat battles founded, in part, by their son Ben. Funds raised during streams went directly and wholly to the participating musicians.
Venue volunteer and friend Paul Heirendt says that while “Judy was the heart of the Focal Point, he was, in some ways, the brains and soul of the Focal Point. He interacted with every act that came through. He was the patriarch.”
On Saturday, September 9, the Focal Point will open its doors for a day-long celebration of Eric Stein’s life. Details will be forthcoming at the organization’s Facebook page and at thefocalpoint.org.
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