LOS ANGELES, CA.- In honor of renowned conductor and composer Michael Tilson Thomas (1944–2026), LAMA presents MTT: A Musician’s Life, The Michael Tilson Thomas Collection on October 15. Closely following the San Francisco Symphony’s “A Concert for MTT” on October 2, this presentation celebrates the extraordinary life of the visionary musician, cultural force, and twelve-time Grammy Award winner. Bringing together objects that surrounded and inspired MTT in his residences and throughout his career, this collection offers a portrait of a creative life that extended far beyond the concert hall.
Michael Tilson Thomas was Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the New World Symphony. He also served as Distinguished Professor of Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Earlier, he held positions with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, and Los Angeles Philharmonic. A twelve-time Grammy Award winner, Tilson Thomas appeared on more than 140 recordings. He championed contemporary and American composers, and his work with the New World Symphony helped prepare more than 1,300 alumni for careers in music. An active composer, he wrote From the Diary of Anne Frank and Meditations on Rilke, which appear on a Grammy Award-winning SFS Media recording of his music. His broadcasting work included the New York Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concerts, BBC and PBS programs, and the San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score series. He was profiled on PBS’s American Masters and CBS Sunday Morning; the latter received a 2026 National Headliner Award. Tilson Thomas received the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France.
Many works on offer reflect Tilson Thomas’s chosen vocation and deep reverence for the great figures of musical innovation, from a signed first edition of Stravinsky Chroniques (est. $3,000–5,000) to coats from the Collection of James Brown (est. $2,000–3,000 each) to handwritten letters and ephemera from classical giants Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Gustav Mahler. Further, Tilson Thomas cherished instruments sourced from around the world including a Balinese Gamelan gong from the Collection of Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart (est. $2,000–3,000), a Mickey Hart cymbal by Zildjian (est. $1,000–2,000) and a Carl Fudge clavichord (est. $2,000–4,000).
Beyond music, Tilson Thomas’s interests and proclivities reached far and wide, spanning Arts & Crafts lighting and ceramics, Mission furniture, contemporary design, Din textiles, geologic specimens, and more. Together, these objects illuminate a multifaceted artist guided by curiosity, discovery, and an expansive understanding of creativity, whose taste graced the pages of Architectural Digest. Emphasizing his incredible breadth, Tilson Thomas’s collaborations ranged from classical luminaries to artists including Sarah Vaughan and Metallica, while his own compositions encompassed orchestral, chamber, vocal, and solo works.
MTT: A Musician’s Life, The Michael Tilson Thomas Collection offers a unique perspective on this celebrated public figure. Through the personal effects with which he chose to live, the collection reveals the same qualities that animated his music: an appetite for discovery, an embrace of unexpected connections, and an enduring fascination with creative expression in all its forms. A portion of the sale proceeds will support the preservation and continuation of Tilson Thomas's legacy through his Trust. Proceeds will also benefit charitable organizations that were beloved to him during his lifetime.
“MTT was inspiring for more than simply his contributions to our understanding and enjoyment of his art form,” says Rago Wright Director of Business Development Brent Lewis, “but also his ability to cross disciplines and evoke a greater engagement with human achievement in all forms, as witnessed when one encounters the many interests represented by these objects. From Gustav Mahler to Gustav Stickley, from Emily Dickinson to James Brown, MTT found inspiration and beauty. We are excited to support the ongoing work of those who will further MTT’s legacy.”
