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Michael Tilson Thomas conducts a performance of Copland's Appalachian Spring by The Boston Symphony Orchestra in Lenox, Mass. in 2018. Thomas, who led the San Francisco Symphony for 25 years, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2021.
Paul Marotta
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Getty Images
Michael Tilson Thomas, renowned conductor and composer, dies at 81
Lisa Hirsch
Thomas led the San Francisco Symphony from 1995 to 2020, helping to establish its reputation as a world-class orchestra. In 2021, he was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a type of brain cancer.
Mothballs can disrupt the nesting of protected black skimmers.
jctabb - stock.adobe.com
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Classical Stories From WSMR
Authorities investigate after hundreds of mothballs found on St. Pete Beach
Ricardo Cuomo
Denay Wilkerson and her son Cairo, 2, ride the newly restored Smithsonian National Carousel on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
Valerie Plesch for NPR
Classical Stories From WSMR
Decades-old, newly restored Smithsonian carousel reopens — to children's delight
Elizabeth Blair
Steve Reich is a percussionist and composer who traveled the world soaking up the rhythms and instrumentation of far-flung places. He studied African drumming at the University of Ghana.
Jennifer Taylor
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Courtesy
Classical Stories From WSMR
ensembleNewSRQ performs 'Music for 18 Musicians' on the 50th anniversary of its premiere
Susan Giles Wantuck
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