We learned today that John Silber passed away early this
morning. As transformative a figure as Dr. Silber was to Boston University, he
was even more critical to the Huntington, which would not have come into being
without his personal determination that the City of Boston have a world-class
resident theatre. When asked why he would invest the University's resources in
what might be perceived as a risky proposition, he said "If Boston University
can support a football team, it can damn well support a theatre company!"
Thirty years later the Huntington is an independent organization, but our strategic partnership with and support from BU continues to this day. Over 3.5 million people have seen more than 180 productions since the Huntington's
founding in 1982, and 450,000 young people have been served by our education and
community programs. The Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, which the Huntington built and
opened in 2004, would not exist if the Huntington had not been founded by
BU 22 years earlier, and a proud John Silber was with us at its dedication.
I last saw John about a year ago when he attended our production of
Candide, which he greatly admired. I look forward to finding a way to
honor him and his role in the founding of the Huntington in the coming weeks,
and I take great pleasure in knowing that the service to BU and to Greater Boston
that he envisioned for us over 30 years ago continues stronger than ever. As
you can see from his obituary on Boston.com, the
founding of the Huntington is recognized as an important part of John
Silber's legacy.
The Huntington family and I send my deepest sympathy and condolences to
the entire Silber family.
-- Michael Maso, Managing Director
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