Art and Seek reported this morning that DSO Pops conductor Marvin Hamlisch died yesterday, reportedly after a brief, undisclosed illness. He was 68 years old.
Hamlisch was one of only 11 people to have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. He was one of only two EGOT artists to have also been awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
He is best known as the man who composed A Chorus Line, as well as the music for films like The Way We Were and A Streetcar Named Desire. As a conductor, Hamlisch held the position of principal pops conductor for six national orchestras, including Dallas'.
Maintaining a long and significant relationship with Dallas, Hamlisch was one of the first artists to perform at the Meyerson's Grand Opening Fortnight in 1989. On November 19, 1991, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra performed a symphonic suite by Hamlisch based on the book Anatomy of Peace by Emery Reeves. Based on the philosophical idea that the key to world peace lies in universal government, Hamlisch's "Anatomy of Peace" was recorded by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1992.
He performed here as recently as May, and was slated to appear in Dallas three times during the upcoming season.
