Michael Tilson Thomas Is stepping down as artistic director of the New World Symphony, the Miami Beach based musical academy that he co-founded with cruise magnate and philanthropist Ted Arison.
In an open letter, Tilson Thomas revealed, for the first time, details of his previously reported health crisis. Past August, he underwent brain surgery, followed by a regimen of radiation and chemotherapy due to being diagnosed with Glioblastona Multiforme, which he described as “an aggressive type of brain cancer.
He will now become artistic director laureate of the ensemble, which has over 1,200 alumni, playing in major orchestras and chamber groups across the globe.
The conductor has led 20 concerts with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony — of which he is former music director — in recent months, but cancelled his February appearances with the New World Symphony including a Berg-Beethoven program and part of a festival devoted to the Harlem Renaissance.
“I intend to stick around for a bit,” Tilson Thomas wrote. “Creating and collaborating to make great music is what it’s all about for me.”
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