Thomas Muraco, MSM Collaborative Piano faculty member for more than 30 years.
We write with heartbreaking news that our longtime faculty colleague and friend Thomas Muraco passed away on Saturday, February 3, 2024 after a sudden illness. He was surrounded by his sister Lorraine, partner Thomas, and close friends and colleagues.
Tom, who joined the MSM faculty in 1993, served as a member of MSM’s Collaborative Piano faculty, a Vocal Coach, and taught numerous students enrolled in his French Diction, Recitative, and other courses. In addition to his faculty responsibilities, he led master classes, frequently performed with faculty colleagues and students, and led performances, including Collaborative Piano-Vocal Seminar programs and Opera Repertoire Ensemble (ORE). Tom contributed time and service to MSM, including being a current and long-serving member of the Faculty Council.
While Tom’s many accomplishments are enumerated in his bio, included at the end of this message, we share the words of three voice alumni who wrote tributes to Tom as they reflect on the impact he had on their lives.
Justin Austin (BM ’14, MM ’17)
Maestro Tom Muraco epitomized selflessness, generosity, talent, humor, compassion, and love—a truly extraordinary individual. His unwavering dedication to classical music and the perpetuation of this exquisite art form was unparalleled. As a student under his tutelage at MSM, he made a commitment to always offer his guidance in times of need—a promise he not only kept but extended beyond my graduation, providing enduring coaching, counsel, inspiration, support, and encouragement. It is widely acknowledged that the caliber of a school is intricately linked to the excellence of its educators, and MSM, enriched by luminaries like Tom Muraco, stands as one of the most profound blessings in my life.
Raehann Bryce-Davis (MM ’12, PS ’13)
What we artists need most are people who are willing to fight for us. Fight for our skills, our development, our safety, our joy, our success. Those of us who worked with Tom Muraco found this person. It didn’t matter what the obstacle was, with a smile and a witty joke, Tom went to bat for us every single day. I’m grateful to be part of his legacy of artists who benefited from his consummate knowledge, his artistry, and his friendship.
Joo Won Kang (MM ’11)
It was just recently that I had an unforgettable recital with Tom. It was definitely my dream come true. It was an incredibly blessed time. Tom was not only my most respected mentor, but also a friend with whom I could truly be honest. We laughed, cried, and immersed ourselves in music during the preparation for the recital over the past month.
The time spent with Tom was the greatest gift in my life. It is with truly indescribable sadness that Tom, who gave me such a significant gift, has left us in this way. Tom did not compromise as my mentor. He did not give up. He was not afraid to speak the truth. Looking back on our time together, I am truly grateful for his passion.
Once, I asked Tom, pleaded with him not to retire. Tom promised me that he would never retire. Tom may have retired from this world, but his spirit and soul will remain an eternal lesson for us. Tom, you have my Love forever.
From President Gandre:
I first met Tom in the summer of 1984 when I was a student of his at the Blossom Festival School of Music. I immediately experienced his incredible passion for and depth of knowledge about classical music. It was not only his life’s work, but the actual core of his life. I had already worked at MSM eight years when he joined the faculty and MSM then became yet another of his passions. As you read above, the students he touched with his dedication to the art form and to them personally was a hallmark of Tom’s life. When he latched on to you, he was with you forever. That passion and dedication is rare.
Such an unexpected loss creates a void in our community. Please join us in remembering Tom for his decades-long contributions to the art form he so cherished and that he devoted his life’s work to as a colleague and pedagogue for so many students and alumni. For those closest to Tom, we send you our condolences and hope that the wellspring of good memories he inspires will provide solace now and in the years ahead.
For a more complete portrait of Tom’s significant performance and teaching career, please read the extended bio below our signatures.
We will write again to let you know any relevant details regarding a memorial service that is planned to take place at MSM. Until then, we are thinking of all those who were particularly close to Tom, especially family and close friends, and we know you join us in sending them comfort in their time of grief.
Sincerely,
Described as “simply one of the finest collaborative artists before the public today” by the Boston Globe, Tom was known for his technical virtuosity and was praised for his interpretations of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Brahms, Wolf, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, and Poulenc. Among the many wonderful singers he partnered with were such greats as Adele Addison, John Aler, Martina Arroyo, Arleen Augér, John Cheek, Phyllis Curtin, Mary Dunleavy (MSM faculty), Faith Esham, Maureen Forrester, Denyce Graves, Ben Heppner, Henry Herford, Ying Huang, Sumi Jo, Susanne Mentzer, Chris Merritt, Roberta Peters, Hermann Prey, Twyla Robinson, Jennie Tourel, and Benita Valente, as well as instrumentalists John Graham, Robert Mann, Arnold Steinhardt, Zara Nelsova, Ransom Wilson, the Shanghai String Quartet, and MSM Artists in Residence the American String Quartet.
His MSM appearances as pianist include collaborations with violist and fellow faculty member Daniel Avshalomov in the Brahms Sonata in F Minor (February 1995); soprano Olivia Gorra (’97) in works by Carlos Surinach (March 1995); bass-baritone John Cheek (’71) in Schubert’s Die Winterreise (November 1996); fellow pianist and faculty member Warren Jones in a work by Schubert (October 1997); violinist and fellow faculty member Peter Winograd in a program of works by Beethoven, Grieg, Debussy, and Brahms (February 2000); mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick (MM ’83), who was receiving an honorary doctorate at Commencement, in an aria from Verdi’s Macbeth (May 2002); fellow faculty members Wolfram Koessel (cello) and Mark Nuccio (clarinet) in an All-Brahms program (January 2015); and baritone Sol Jin (MM ’15) at the School’s May 2016 Gala. More recently, Tom performed with MSM alumnus Joo Won Kang (MM ’11) at Weill Recital Hall in December 2023.
Tom was the music director and conductor for MSM Opera Repertoire Ensemble productions of such standards as La traviata by Verdi (February 2020 and April 2001); Les pêcheurs de perles by Bizet (February 2019); Così fan tutte by Mozart (March 2018); La vox humaine by Poulenc (April 2017); Don Pasquale by Donizetti (December 2016); Die Entführungung dem Serail by Mozart (April 2016); Luisa Miller by Verdi (December 2015); Lakmé by Delibes (May 2015); La bohème by Puccini (December 2014); Capuleti e i Montecchi by Bellini (May 2014); Faust by Gounod (April 2013); Hänsel und Gretel by Humperdinck (December 2013); Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti (April 2012); Falstaff by Verdi (April 2011); Dialogues des Carmélites by Poulenc (May 2006); Don Giovanni by Mozart (May 2005); Madama Butterfly by Puccini (April 2004); Die Zauberflöte by Mozart (March 2003); and Carmen by Bizet (April 2002).
In 2019, for MSM’s Orto Center Distance Learning program, Tom presented a voice/collaborative piano master class to students from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (Netherlands), and in the three years following coached and conducted concerts of the Collaborative Pianists’ and Singers’ Seminar.
In addition to his 31 years on the faculty at MSM, Tom taught at Cleveland Institute of Music and the State University of New York at Stony Brook as well as on faculty at Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Dramatic Voices. Tom presented master classes at the Aspen and Banff Music Festivals and the St. Louis Conservatory and served on the Advisory Board of the Art Song Preservation Society of New York.
Tom conducted Lakmé in Tel Aviv for the International Vocal Arts Institute; La Cenerentola with Opera San José; Die Zauberflöte and Idomeneo at Opera McGill; Faust at Tri-Cities Opera; and, in Siena, Orlando and Suor Angelica. Among Tom’s many other accomplishments, he assisted in the preparation of performances and a recording of La Bohème under the direction of Leonard Bernstein.
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