Toby Saks (January 8, 1942 – August 1, 2013) was an American cellist, the founder of the

Seattle Chamber Music Society The Seattle Chamber Music Society (SCMS) is an American organization of musicians located in Seattle, Washington that is dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music. Established in 1982, the presenting organization is currently in i ...

and a member of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

Music history

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

to an immigrant family, Saks began music lessons at the age of five, first on the piano and then, at age nine, on the cello. She studied at New York's

High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school ...

and later at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most ...

with

Leonard Rose Leonard Joseph Rose (July 27, 1918 – November 16, 1984) was an American cellist and pedagogue. Biography Rose was born in Washington, D.C.; his parents were Jewish immigrants, his father from Bragin, Belarus, and his mother from Kyiv, ...

. She gave prize-winning performances at the

International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years o ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and the Casals Competition in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. In 1964, she won a

Young Concert Artists Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting the careers of talented young classical musicians from all over the world. The competition, founded in 1961, allows artists from all over ...

's award. In 1971, she joined the New York Philharmonic, one of the first women to do so. However, over the years, Saks grew to dislike playing in an orchestra and, in 1976, accepted a faculty position in the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

's music department, where she replaced the retiring Eva Heinitz.

Seattle Chamber Music Society

In 1982, Saks averred that she missed performing publicly but at the same time observed that

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

lacked a major outlet for the expression of "classical" music. Saks decided to correct that shortcoming and founded the

, which has continued to host summer festivals that feature some forty artists every season. During her thirty-year career as artistic director of the Society, Saks hired some 266 artists, many of whom were housed by Saks and her immediate neighbors. In 2012 Saks chose her replacement. He was

James Ehnes James Ehnes, (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian concert violinist and violist. Life and career Ehnes was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of Alan Ehnes, long time trumpet professor at Brandon University (Canada), and Barbara Withey Ehnes, fo ...

, a former festival artist.

Personal life

In the late 1960s, Saks married philosopher and author

David Berlinski David Berlinski (born 1942) is an American author who has written books about mathematics and the history of science as well as fiction. An opponent of evolution, he is a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Cultur ...

and had two children, daughter Claire (born 1968) and son

Mischa Mischa is a diminutive form of the name Mikhail. Men * Mischa Auer (1905–1967), Russian actor born Mikhail Semyonovich Unskovsky * Mikhail Mischa Bakaleinikoff (1890–1960), Russian-born musical director, Hollywood film composer and conduc ...

(born 1973), both of whom are published authors. Saks and Berlinski later divorced. In 2013, Saks was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after persistent abdominal problems. Hoping to attend the Society's festival, she chose to forgo treatment and, on August 1, died at the age of 71. She is survived by her husband of 25 years, Martin Greene, and her two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saks, Toby 1942 births 2013 deaths American classical cellists University of Washington faculty Juilliard School alumni Musicians from New York City Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in Washington (state) Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Musicians from Seattle Classical musicians from New York (state) 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century cellists Berlinski family