Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The January 27 concert of the San Francisco Symphony was loaded with extra-musical import. Michael Tilson Thomas, music director of the orchestra for 25 years and now its music director laureate (and conductor laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra), led his final subscription concert. It came 50 years after his debut with the orchestra in 1974. Then, he conducted a Mahler symphony (No 9). This time, it was Mahler again, the Symphony No 5.

It was a beautiful performance, surely if deliberately shaped, led and superbly played, in the terrific acoustics of Davies Symphony Hall. But that was not the extra-musical import. In 2021 Tilson Thomas was diagnosed with an aggressive, incurable brain tumour, and it is very much in doubt, month to month, how long he can still perform. Two scheduled subscription series before this one had been cancelled. The orchestra leaves open the possibility that he can return for special occasions, but no more subscription series are planned.

So this seemed like a farewell. The audience gave Tilson Thomas standing ovations at the beginning and end. The orchestra wore blue lapel ribbons and waved blue poppies during the final applause, blue being Tilson Thomas’s favourite colour. His husband and partner of 40 years, Joshua Robison, emerged with a bouquet of red roses and their latest dog. Tilson Thomas singled out individual players before beckoning the entire orchestra to rise.

All this in honour of his innumerable contributions to this city (where he has long lived) and its orchestra. He upgraded the quality of performance, conducted the standard repertory with increasing mastery, broadened and revitalised the programming (with special attention to West Coast composers and to American mavericks), recorded, himself composed, and introduced all manner of programmatic experiments, including semi-staged operas. The block in front of Davies Hall was recently renamed MTT Way.

The performance proved fascinating. The score lay untouched on the podium. Tilson Thomas’s gestures were restrained, his left hand occasionally reaching behind him to a railing for support. Everything sounded unusually slow, 10 minutes longer than his 2016 recording with this same orchestra. The Adagietto — the music Leonard Bernstein took to his grave — lasted 13 minutes.

But the music seemed not enervated but savoured. The grand climaxes rang out, but it was the myriad delicate details, exquisitely articulated by the players, that caught the heart.

Was it really a farewell? No one knows, very much including Tilson Thomas. At the very end, after all the flowers and ovations, he quieted the crowd and spoke softly. He said he’d be back. One wants and hopes to believe him.

★★★★★

sfsymphony.org

The post Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the San Francisco Symphony in a shifting Mahler No 5 — evaluate appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Obituary published on Legacy.com by Holy Angels Funeral Center & Holy Sepulchre Cemetery on Nov. 29, 2023.

Thomas Francis Brackett was born in Oakland, California on December 17, 1941 to Thomas and Margaret Brackett during the blackouts of World War II. He passed away peacefully of heart failure at Eden Hospital in Castro Valley, one month before his 82nd birthday on November 17, 2023.
Tom was surrounded by his loving family and friends during his final days.
He attended Sacred Heart Grammar School, St Joseph Alameda High School and graduated from Oakland Technical High School, class of 1960. He married his high school sweetheart Sherry Larsen, now Sherry Larsen-Beville. They had three sons. He lived in Washington Manor in San Leandro since 1962. Tom enjoyed hosting family events and Christmas celebrations at his home.
Tom was employed at Kellogg Cereal Company in San Leandro since 1962. He retired in 1995 as a Plant Engineer. He was a lifetime member of Local 211 of the American Federation of Grain Millers. He was a dedicated member of the Oakland Raiders Booster Club. He was an honorary lifetime member of the San Jose Postcard Club and a member of the San Francisco-Bay Area Postcard Club as well.
Tom became an avid postcard collector in his retirement years, focusing first on his hometown of Oakland, and the Bay Area. He accumulated a large collection of rare and hard to find postcards in mint condition going back over a century.
One of Tom’s greatest joys was his grandchildren. He attended their various sporting events, their plays and ceremonies in Oakland and Castro Valley. He cherished taking and sharing pictures of them with everyone, it gave him great pride. Tom was an Irishman to the core. He established Irish citizenship for himself and his sons. He was known for his Irish wit and humor, especially his elaborate tall tales.
Tom will be remembered for his generosity, always eager to help others and share his knowledge of fixing things, just like his father. Cars, plumbing, house maintenance issues… you name it, he could fix it!
Tom is survived by his sister Marie Plumb of Walnut Creek, his three sons; Tom (Dawn), Richard and Steve, and four grandchildren; Carina, Aerielle, Keely and Tommy, as well as an extended family and dear friends.
A memorial service will be held at 12 noon, Monday, December 18, 2023 at Holy Sepulchre Funeral Center, 1051 Harder Road, Hayward.

The post Thomas Brackett Obituary – Holy Angels Funeral Middle & Holy Sepulchre Cemetery appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Thomas Martin, MD, spoke about how to increase response durability with ciltacabtagene autoleucel for patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma.

Thomas Martin, MD, associate director of the myeloma program at the University of California San Francisco, spoke with CancerNetwork® about the approval of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (Carbykti; cilta-cel) and how investigators can best utilize this treatment for those with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.1 This approval comes based on the results of the phase 1b/2 CARTITUDE-1 trial (NCT03548207) in which patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma and were given cilta-cel and saw durable responses.2

Transcript:

In this patient population, we must look into how we can make it a longer remission duration for everybody. The currently approved therapeutic idecabtagene vicleucel [Abecma] has a [median] progression-free survival [PFS] of 12 months. We would love for it to be longer than that, right? Maybe we need to do maintenance therapy. Maybe we need to see if we [give] treatment after we give the CAR T-cell therapy, something that can rev up the T-cells, make them last longer, and perhaps provide more of an anti-myeloma effect.

Cilta-cel has a longer PFS [with data recently] presented at the recent [63rd Annual American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting]. The 2-year progression-free survival rate was 60.5%, so people are getting 2 years or more of remission duration. Can we even make it longer by adding? That’s one avenue as to how to make it better for the people with relapsed, triple-class refractory [disease]. The other question for us is if we move it to earlier lines of therapy, will we be able to cure some patients with multiple myeloma? Will their remission duration be longer? If we do it in less heavily pretreated patients where their T-cells are healthier and when their myeloma isn’t as resistant, can we make it last longer? That’s a huge question, and that’s where a lot of the energy is now in proving those points.

References

1. US FDA Approves CARVYKTI (ciltacabtagene autoleucel), Janssen’s first cell therapy, a BCMA-directed CAR-T immunotherapy for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. release. Jansen. February 28, 2022. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://prn.to/3vskiZu

2. Martin T, Usmani S, Berdeja J, et al. Updated Results from CARTITUDE-1: Phase 1b/2 study of ciltacabtagene autoleucel, a B-cell maturation antigen-directed chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Blood. 2021;138(suppl 1):549. doi:10.1182/blood-2021-146060

The post Thomas Martin, MD, on Transferring Ahead With Cilta-Cel Therapy in A number of Myeloma appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SWEDESBORO, NJ other SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — In its second notable contract award over the past four weeks, Thomas Scientific has entered into a 5-year agreement with the City and County of san francisco as a strategic supplier of laboratory products and services.

The award was granted as the result of a formal bid solicitation by the City and County of san francisco. It allows for the provision of laboratory supplies to all relevant departments, both at the county and municipal level.

Thomas Scientific has inked a 5-year contract with the City and County of San Francisco to be a strategic supplier of laboratory products and services.

This latest deal comes on the heels of a similar five-year award with Florida State University in early November. Both contracts are a testament to Thomas Scientific’s focus on creating solutions that meet the unique needs of each customer – spearheaded by a cross-functional, company-wide team that includes key members of its sales, category, pricing, and finance departments.

“The City and County of san francisco was seeking to contract with a laboratory products distributor with the goal of establishing a ‘one-stop’ supplier for many different departments,” stated Lewis McMillan, Director, Government Sales at Thomas Scientific. “Our award extends the full product offering of Thomas Scientific to these government customers.”

The company has been building noticeable market momentum following four acquisitions under the Thomas Scientific umbrella during 2017-2018, including life science distributors Phenix Research Products and E&K Scientific. Since the integration of these four companies in 2019, Thomas Scientific has relied almost exclusively on in-house strategic initiatives and its strong capabilities to achieve accelerated growth, significantly outpacing its industry competitors.

Thomas Scientific now stands as North America’s largest pure-play distributor of scientific products, boasting the broadest and most differentiated product portfolio in the industry. This has greatly improved its ability to provide customers with access to the brands they trust the most in order to help accelerate their science.

In addition to continually adding to its industry-leading product portfolio, Thomas Scientific has significantly accelerated its investments within its clinical diagnostics, lab automation, and controlled environments teams. The company also made further operational strides by achieving ISO 9001:2015 certification this July and publicly launching Thomas Inventory Management Solutions (TIMS), its vendor-managed inventory program, the following month.

“Our Sales and Category Management teams have worked together to continually build-off of our industry leading product portfolio, attracting customers like the City and County of san francisco (and Florida State University). Thomas Scientific plays a very strategic and important role for our customers and suppliers by delivering significant value through our capabilities and expertise as North America’s largest pure-play distributor,” said Thomas Scientific’s Chief Operating Officer, Stan Haas. “We appreciate the confidence that our customer and supplier partners continue to have in Thomas, as we all pursue success together in serving science.”

Learn more about Thomas Scientific and its product and service offerings on the company website.

About Thomas Scientific
Founded in 1900, Thomas Scientific provides the latest in supplies, equipment, and supply chain solutions to the scientific community – supporting all laboratory research, biopharmaceutical, medical device, clinical diagnostics, cleanroom, and other related end markets. In accordance with our mission to be the most trusted partner in science for our customers, suppliers, and associates, we deliver individualized service and a comprehensive product portfolio at competitive prices, combined with customized supply chain service solutions. Whether you work in a laboratory or controlled environment setting, or perform your testing in the field, Thomas Scientific has the products you need.

Media Contact
Diane scaleVice President, Corporate and Supplier Marketing Services
856.832.3296
[email protected]
thomassci.com

SOURCE Thomas Scientific

The post Thomas Scientific Finalizes Provider Settlement with Metropolis and County of San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Michael Tilson Thomas

Michael Tilson Thomas, longtime music director of the San Francisco Symphony before he retired last year, announced Friday that he was diagnosed with a brain tumor that required immediate surgery.

Retired after 25 years as the symphony’s music director, Thomas won 12 Grammys for his recordings during his tenure and received the National Medal of Arts and 2019 Kennedy Center Honors.

On Friday morning, Thomas wrote on Twitter that he recently returned home from UCSF Medical Center after being diagnosed with a brain tumor and having surgery he deemed successful, but will have to cancel all upcoming public appearances until October if he breaks up recovered.

“I plan to return to the stage in November,” he wrote. “I am very fortunate to be looked after by the excellent UCSF team and their national and international employees. Thank you for your love and prayers. See you later!”

The post Michael Tilson Thomas longtime music director for the San Francisco Symphony, pronounces mind tumor surgical procedure | Bay Space appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.