San Francisco Symphony Celebrates Michael Tilson Thomas's Life and Legacy With A Concert for MTT, October 2

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—On Friday, October 2, the San Francisco Symphony honors the life, artistry, and enduring legacy of Michael Tilson Thomas with a special memorial concert celebrating one of the most transformative figures in the Orchestra’s history and a beloved cultural figure in San Francisco and throughout the classical music world. A Concert for MTT will feature many of Tilson Thomas’s longtime friends and collaborators, including conductors Teddy Abrams and Edwin Outwater, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, vocalist Audra McDonald, and pianists Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Yuja Wang, alongside the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Symphony Chorus and other guests to be announced. 

The evening will reflect the breadth of Tilson Thomas’s musical imagination, his passion for artistic discovery, and the lasting and profound relationships he cultivated throughout his career. Through a mix of personal tributes and anecdotes, archival footage and recordings, and performances of iconic repertoire, all drawn from a lifetime of music-making, the concert will trace Michael Tilson Thomas’s remarkable journey and illuminate the indelible mark left by his 25-year tenure leading the San Francisco Symphony. Under his leadership, he helped the Orchestra achieve artistic acclaim, expand its global reach, and champion contemporary and American music, while reimagining how orchestras can connect with audiences and communities.

San Francisco Symphony CEO Matthew Spivey said, “Michael didn't just lead this orchestra. He reimagined what an orchestra could be, and he did it here, with these musicians, for this city. Working alongside him shaped how all of us understand our purpose. His loss in April was deeply felt, but his influence is woven into the San Francisco Symphony at every level, and it will be for generations. On October 2 we get to do the thing Michael loved most: gather, listen, and celebrate together. That so many of his friends, collaborators, and students are coming to make music in his honor tells you everything about the man and the bonds he built.” 

Tickets for A Concert for MTT start at $89 and go on sale tomorrow (Thursday, July 2) at 10:00am PT to donors and subscribers, and on Saturday, July 18, at 10:00am PT to the general public. Tickets are available at sfsymphony.org.    

Michael Tilson Thomas (December 21, 1944–April 22, 2026) made his debut with the San Francisco Symphony in 1974 at age 29 and led nearly 1,800 concerts over the course of his 52-year relationship with the Symphony. During his incredible 25-year tenure as Music Director (1995–2020), MTT oversaw the launch of SFS Media, the Symphony’s own recording label, which released many Grammy Award-winning recordings; introduced Keeping Score, creating a lasting and memorable music education resource for countless people; and created unforgettable concert experiences for the Symphony’s audiences and community.   

Read more about Michael Tilson Thomas’s impact on the San Francisco Symphony.  

Michael Tilson Thomas Legacy Fund
The Michael Tilson Thomas Legacy Fund—established in May by the San Francisco Symphony Board of Governors following Tilson Thomas’s passing—honors MTT’s extraordinary half-century relationship with the San Francisco Symphony, including his 25 years as Music Director, during which he played a defining role in shaping the Orchestra’s artistic identity and raising its prominence around the world. As a permanent endowment, this fund will support the Orchestra, ensuring that the artistry and strength he fostered continue to define the ensemble for generations to come. 

To learn more about supporting the Michael Tilson Thomas Legacy Fund, please visit sfsymphony.org/donate or contact [email protected]. 

About Michael Tilson Thomas 
Michael Tilson Thomas was Music Director Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra, cofounder and Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, and Distinguished Professor of Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He was a 12-time Grammy Award winner and conducted the major orchestras of Europe and the United States.   

Born in Los Angeles, he studied conducting and composition with Ingolf Dahl at the University of Southern California and, as a young musician, worked with artists including Igor Stravinsky and Aaron Copland. In his mid-20s, he became Assistant Conductor—and later Principal Guest Conductor—of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He subsequently served as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.   

In 1987, he cofounded the New World Symphony, a postgraduate orchestral academy in Miami Beach dedicated to preparing young musicians of diverse backgrounds for leadership roles in classical music. He worked with more than 1,200 NWS Fellows, many of whom have gone on to major musical careers.   

He became Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony in 1995, ushering in a period of significant growth and heightened international recognition for the orchestra, championing contemporary and American composers alongside classical masters.   

His discography includes more than 120 recordings, and his television work includes series for the BBC and PBS, the New York Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concerts, and numerous televised performances. His profile Michael Tilson Thomas: Where Now Is aired on PBS’s American Masters series in fall 2020.   

Throughout his career, he was an active composer, with major works including From the Diary of Anne Frank, premiered with narrator Audrey Hepburn, Agnegram, and Meditations on Rilke. Both appear on SFS Media’s Grammy Award-winning recording of his music. In 2023, Yuja Wang and Teddy Abrams released a recording on DG that included Tilson Thomas’s You Come Here Often?, which won a Grammy Award in 2024 for Best Classical Instrumental Solo.   

He was an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France, member of the American Academies of Arts & Sciences and Arts & Letters, National Medal of Arts recipient, and a 2019 Kennedy Center Honoree.   

Three major recording projects were released in 2024 in celebration of his 80th birthday: GRACE: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas, a four-disc box set of Tilson Thomas’s compositions on Pentatone; The Complete Columbia, CBS and RCA Recordings on Sony Classical; and The Complete Deutsche Grammophon & Argo Recordings on DG Eloquence.  

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