Lenox — She may have occupied the seat next to you last summer in the Shed at Tanglewood. She probably crossed your path once or twice as you were making your way up the hill from Ozawa Hall to the Linde Center for Music and Learning, the cluster of buildings named in her honor after she led in its planning and design. Joyce Linde was not only a Tanglewood fixture; she was a beloved trustee of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a generous philanthropist, and a passionate advocate for the arts who actually became a tangible part of what we now call Tanglewood. Joyce died on March 8 at the age of 81.
Clearly, Joyce Linde had something very important in common with the orchestra’s founder, Henry Lee Higginson, whose desire was to make great music accessible to “any one and everyone likely to care for such things.” She believed everyone should have equitable access to the arts, and according to her philanthropic advisor, Julie Mott Toulmin, Joyce’s devotion to this cause was proven over and over through her “philanthropic giving, her time, and her appreciation of those who mentor and teach young people.”
Boston Museum of Fine Arts Director Matthew Teitelbaum recently said of Joyce, “She was inspiring, always thoughtful, and deeply beloved … Her optimism and belief in all around her, and her challenges to all of us to think differently and love deeply will stay with us forever.”
On Friday, at the start of their concert in Symphony Hall, the BSO played “Fairy Garden” from Ravel’s “Mother Goose Suite” in Joyce’s memory, after the following remarks from BSO President and CEO Chad Smith:
A true champion of the arts and culture in Boston and the Berkshires, Joyce Linde helped the BSO to push the boundaries of its work through her generosity and in her work on our Board of Trustees. Her legacy at the BSO is enormous: her pivotal role in the creation of the Tanglewood Learning Institute has helped bring critical context and perspectives to the music we perform on our stages, and her support for the Tanglewood Music Center has helped to foster the careers of young artists whose impact will be felt for many years to come. We will miss Joyce dearly.
Read the orchestra’s full statement here.
