In Tuesday’s (2/24) San Francisco Chronicle, Aidin Vaziri and Tony Bravo write, “Joshua Robison, the longtime husband and closest professional collaborator of San Francisco Symphony Music Director Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas, died in his sleep Sunday, Feb. 22. He was 79. Robison had been recovering from a fall last August and was undergoing rehabilitation … For more than four decades, Robison was a constant at Tilson Thomas’ side—not only as spouse but as manager, adviser and strategic partner. Friends and colleagues often described him as the behind-the-scenes architect who helped turn Tilson Thomas’ artistic ambitions into lasting institutions and civic initiatives…. Robison and Tilson Thomas became partners in 1976, remaining together for nearly 50 years. They married in 2014…. Robison was born in May 13, 1946 … His sister Paula Robison is a flutist and founding member of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society…. After graduating from UC Berkeley … he moved to New York, where he worked in advocacy in public schools and at the Bank Street College of Education…. By the mid-1970s, Robison had assumed the role of manager and strategic partner—formally serving as general manager of MTT Inc…. Following Tilson Thomas’ 2021 diagnosis with glioblastoma multiforme, Robison devoted himself to his husband’s care while continuing to oversee professional affairs…. Tilson Thomas and Robison founded the New World Symphony [in Miami Beach] in 1987 with Ted and Lin Arison.” The San Francisco Symphony is dedicating this week’s performances of Mozart’s Requiem, led by Manfred Honeck, to Robison.
