Around the Music Festival

American conductor and composer Michael Tilson Thomas passed away on April 22nd at the age of 81. He was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in 2021 but continued to work while battling the disease. His last conducting engagement was at the end of April last year with the San Francisco Symphony, where he served as Music Director Laureate.

He was born in Los Angeles and studied conducting and composition at the University of Southern California. He served as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (1971-1979) and principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (1987-1995). In 1987, he also founded the New World Symphony Orchestra in Florida with the aim of nurturing young musicians.

In 1995, he became the music director of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. He held the position for 25 years and won Grammy Awards for his recordings of Mahler’s symphonies and John Adams’ orchestral works. He was openly gay, and his wife, Joshua Robinson, whom he married in 2014, passed away this February at the age of 79.