Richard Ortner, the Boston Conservatory’s president from 1998 to 2017, “expanded the conservatory’s facilities, increased its program offerings, and elevated its presence in Boston’s music circles,” writes Bryan Marquard in Tuesday’s (10/15) Boston Globe. “He also helped engineer its merger with the nearby Berklee College of Music to ensure the school’s survival… Mr. Ortner … died of cancer Thursday, at 71. His death was announced by the school he once led, which is now called Boston Conservatory at Berklee…. He studied architecture at the Cooper Union in New York City, then switched to New York University, from which he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music. He also produced radio classical music programs. While ushering at Carnegie Hall, he met the famous conductor Leonard Bernstein. ‘Harry Kraut, who worked for Leonard Bernstein, told me I should go to Tanglewood and work as a guide,’ Mr. Ortner said in 2000. He did just that and rose through the BSO ranks…. Mr. Ortner served as Tanglewood’s administrator for more than a decade until 1997…. ‘And then one day I had a call asking me if I would be interested in becoming a candidate for the presidency of the Boston Conservatory.’ ” He is survived by his brother, Jonathan.
Posted October 17, 2019
