Michael Tilson Thomas, celebrated conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, was honored with a day named after him as he conducted his farewell performance after a courageous battle with brain cancer. Despite being diagnosed in 2021, he continued to lead performances across the U.S. and Europe. The gala was a tribute to his 80 years of life and contribution to music. Highlights included a powerful rendition of Respighi's 'Roman Festivals' and a nostalgic encore from Bernstein's 'On the Town.' His legacy is encapsulated by his joyful influence on American music for sixty years.
For Tilson Thomas, it all was the culmination of what he declared in February: 'We all get to say the old show business expression, 'It's a wrap.'"
Despite starting treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer in summer 2021, Tilson Thomas astonishingly continued to conduct throughout the U.S. and even in Europe for the next three and a half years.
For six decades, beginning with his undergraduate years at USC, Tilson Thomas has been a joy-making key figure in American music.
Tilson Thomas started with Benjamin Britten's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Purcell, better known as 'The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.'
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