San Francisco Conservatory of Music Celebrates Michael Tilson Thomas with GRACE

Local classical music legend Michael Tilson Thomas was honored by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) for his 80th birthday, with an album release and a special benefit concert on October 8. Pentatone Music, in partnership with SFCM, has released GRACE, a fabulous collection spanning more than five decades of Tilson Thomas’s compositional career. The comprehensive 4-disc collection also includes an extensive book containing composer’s notes, original essays and a timeline of archival photos chronicling his life as a pianist, conductor, composer, recording artist and teacher.

MTT fans and music aficionados first gathered at SFCM for a festive reception with bubbly and bites, before adjourning to the Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall for the main event. Featured performers that night included Edwin Outwater, John Wilson, Demarre McGill, SFCM students and, of course, the honoree himself at the piano, thrilling San Francisco once more with his virtuosity. Notable attendees at the birthday bash included Gordon Getty, Bernard Osher, Ute Bowes and SFCM President David Stull. Every ticket sold that night included a copy of GRACE with the admission price, and 100% of the ticket proceeds will go to support brain cancer research at the UCSF Brain Tumor Center.