As I was scrolling through the news on my phone this morning, one article caught my eye and I stopped to read it. As soon as I saw the name “Michael Tilson Thomas,” I somehow knew it was going to be an announcement of his obituary.

Here’s the story from National Public Radio: Michael Tilson Thomas, renowned conductor and composer, dies at 81

Conductor, composer and educator Michael Tilson Thomas, who led the San Francisco Symphony for 25 years, establishing its reputation as a world-class orchestra, died on Wednesday at his home in San Francisco, according to a statement from his publicist, Constance Shuman. He was 81 years old.

In 2021, Thomas announced that he was being treated for a brain tumor. In 2022, he acknowledged that he had been battling glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain cancer.

… At the University of Southern California, he studied with composer Ingolf Dahl and took up conducting. During his time at USC, he worked with Igor Stravinsky and other important composers. Stravinsky and Aaron Copland became friends and mentors to him, as did Leonard Bernstein, whom Thomas met in his early 20s.

Wikipedia said he obtained a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California in 1967, and a master’s degree in 1976. When I entered USC School of Music in September of 1968, I have distinct memories of seeing him hang around Widney Hall, (now called Widney Alumni House), the oldest university building in Southern California. He was already considered a legend around the school. I even went to a concert when he conducted the USC Symphony Orchestra as a master’s student.

Did you see the name Ingolf Dahl in the paragraph above? He was the conductor of the USC Symphony Orchestra. I’m pretty sure I took a class with Professor Dahl, but I can’t remember what subject and I can’t locate my college transcript at the moment to check it out.

Widney Hall was the place of my music theory classes, and throughout the hallways, there were multiple, large, black and white portraits of Igor Stravinsky. At one time, there was even a small pipe organ in my organ professor’s office in Widney Hall where I had a few organ lessons. My lessons were then moved to Bovard Auditorium, built in 1921.

Did I ever meet or talk with Michael Tilson Thomas? Probably not. But as a freshman, I most certainly knew of him and his conducting prowess even way back then.

Hey, another famous person I saw on campus was O.J. Simpson, where I ran into him at the campus post office.

A lifetime ago!