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Arts & Culture

Joshua Robison, Husband to Michael Tilson Thomas, Dies at 79

Gabe Meline
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A man in a black suit and deep maroon bowtie smiles next to a man in blue suit and glasses
Joshua Robison, at left, with husband Michael Tilson Thomas on their wedding day in 2014. (Courtesy San Francisco Symphony)

Joshua Robison, the husband of conductor and music director Michael Tilson Thomas, died in his sleep Sunday night at his apartment in San Francisco. He was 79.

A cause of death has not been given. Robison had been in a long period of recovery from a spinal cord injury after suffering a fall at home last August.

Robison, full of energy and quick with a smile, was a constant presence at the San Francisco Symphony, and at civic and arts events in and around San Francisco. To Thomas, he served as a creative partner and source of support.

A group of people sit in chairs, many dressed in blue, on the sidewalk
Joshua Robison, second from left, sits with Michael Tilson Thomas, Mayor London Breed, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco Symphony Executive Director Matthew Spivey at a dedication ceremony for ‘MTT Way’ outside Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco in Dec. 15, 2023. (Courtesy San Francisco Symphony)

While Thomas was the music director and public face of the San Francisco Symphony from 1995–2020, “Joshua was the steady and indispensable force behind the scenes who helped make it all work,” said the Symphony’s board chair Priscilla Geeslin.

“Their partnership was extraordinary: Michael’s expansive artistic vision paired with Joshua’s insight, advocacy, and unwavering dedication. Joshua ensured that bold ideas became realities, that relationships were nurtured, and that the Symphony’s work resonated far beyond the stage,” Geeslin added.

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Robison and Thomas met as musicians in their junior high orchestra. “We have very strong memories of making music together when we were 12 or 13 years old,” Thomas once told the San Francisco Chronicle.

A man in a blue shirt clasps his hands in appreciation next to a door as smiling friends stand close by
Joshua Robison, second from left, leaves the stage with Michael Tilson Thomas, Edwin Outwater and Teddy Abrams at the end of Thomas’ 80th birthday celebration at Davies Symphony Hall, April 26, 2025. (Stefan Cohen / San Francisco Symphony)

In high school and at UC Berkeley, while Thomas continued to study music, Robison became a champion gymnast. In the 1970s, the two reunited in New York state, and were inseparable ever since.

In 2014, 38 years after first meeting, the two were married. In 2021, after Thomas was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Robison provided constant care and support.

Last year, Robison produced an 80th birthday concert for Thomas at Davies Symphony Hall, and sat by Thomas’ side onstage for the duration of the celebration. At the concert’s end, Thomas sang along to the song “Some Other Time,” gesturing toward Robison on the lines: “There’s so much more embracing / Still to be done / But time is racing.”

A memorial for Robison has not yet been announced.

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