Michael Maso on the Death of John Silber

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