Boston University College of Fine Arts mourns the passing of Dr. Marvin Rabin, former Professor of Music in BU School of Music and founding Music Director of Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO). Dr. Rabin passed away on Thursday, December 5th in Wisconsin at the age of 97 after a brief illness.
Dr. Rabin founded Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, now known as BYSO, shortly after joining Boston University faculty in 1958. From its inception, the youth symphony orchestra was recognized for its high artistic standards and for its model as a music education organization. Upon invitation from late President Kennedy in 1962, Dr. Rabin conducted a performance for the President and Mrs. Kennedy on the South Lawn of the White House.
Dr. Rabin spoke to The Boston Globe in October 1958 about the youth symphony founded at Boston University: “The policy is the general benefit of the student. What will help the student will be done, and the emphasis will be upon the musical progress of students and less upon the aim of merely working up concerts for purposes of display.”
“Dr. Rabin leaves behind an amazing legacy. Not only was he a beloved Professor of Music at BU School of Music, he was the visionary behind one of the most celebrated and emulated youth symphony orchestras in the country,” says Benjamín Juárez, Dean of Boston University College of Fine Arts. “We celebrate his legacy and the incredible work that BYSO continues today.”
BYSO is dedicating the January 19th semi-staged performance of Puccini’s “Tosca” to the late Dr. Rabin. A memorial service will be held on December 29 at the Unitarian Meeting House in Madison, Wisconsin.