Boston Symphony Orchestra

Shopping Basket | Email Signup | Contact Us

< >

Full Calendar

BSO Mobile Club:

Text "BSO" at 22122
or Enroll Online!

Learn more >

Podcasts / RSS

Access our large library of audio and video podcasts!
   BSO Podcast
   Boston Pops Podcast

BSO Chairman Edward H. Linde: A Message from Mark Volpe, BSO Managing Director

[Edward H. Linde and Mark Volpe]
BSO Chairman Edward H. Linde and BSO Managing Dir. Mark Volpe.
It is with great sorrow that I must inform you of the passing of BSO Chairman Edward H. Linde. Ed was a highly respected and admired leader within our organization and throughout the city of Boston. Ed joined the Board of Overseers in 1996, and was elected Trustee in 1999. Ed was elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees in 2005 and served in that leadership role since that time. Throughout Ed’s tenure as Chairman, he was a passionate and tireless ambassador for the BSO. Ed and Joyce have attended BSO concerts for decades endowing a BSO percussion orchestra chair presently held by Daniel Bauch, Assistant Timpanist.

In 1985, the Lindes bought their home in Richmond, MA, located near Tanglewood, and it was then that they fell in love with the BSO and began playing an active role by generously giving their time and resources. They were seen on campus daily either attending meetings or concerts - often seated on the lawn with their entire family. Ed and Joyce began their involvement by sponsoring a student at the Tanglewood Music Center, and later endowed a full Fellowship in perpetuity. Ed and Joyce hosted multiple events in Boston and New York, accompanied the Boston Symphony Orchestra to Carnegie Hall and served as co-chairs of Opening Night at Tanglewood in 2005.

[Edward H. Linde]
BSO Chairman Edward H. Linde at the Brooke Corridor naming.
In appreciation of Ed’s leadership and friendship, Trustees Alan Bressler and Edward Rudman endowed the Tanglewood Music Center Directorship in honor of Ed. Alan stated: “Ed Linde took on the Chairman of the BSO at a time in his life that was filled with heavy challenges. When I asked him why he would commit himself to such a time consuming position, given these other challenges and commitments, his response was typical Ed Linde. He said "I love the institution and I feel that I can make a positive impact on the orchestra's current and future prospects. Besides....I think it will be a lot of fun." He was correct on both counts. The BSO was fortunate to have such a person as its Chairman. I just wish we had him for a few more years. He will be missed. “ Trustee Ed Rudman shared these thoughts about Ed: “Ed combined brilliance and understatement in such a way that was unique…brilliant people have to tell you they are brilliant and most people overstate their capacities. Ed’s lack of ego always amazed me. He would do the right thing because it WAS the right thing …..not because it was expected.”

Ed enjoyed relationships with all of the organizations’ conductors. In addition to supporting many areas of the organization, the Lindes were lead donors to the Artistic Initiative Fund, which fostered the advancement of Maestro Levine's vision of the BSO. BSO Music Director James Levine remarked “Ed Linde’s extraordinary array of qualities as chairman of the BSO combined to make for an exceptional leader who brought deep insight into the business workings of the BSO while also allowing the musicians the freedom needed to create programs and performances of the highest standards. These qualities, along with his remarkable intellect and great humanity, made Ed tremendously successful in his role with the BSO, and someone I was proud to call my friend. His incredible commitment to philanthropy here in Boston, at the BSO, and well beyond into the fields of science and education, made him a figure who touched the lives of countless individuals for the good. All of us at the BSO will remember Ed for the tremendous leadership and dedication he brought to the BSO in times of growth and challenge. Our good fortune in knowing him is only matched by the sadness we feel at his passing.”

[P@P 2008]
BSO Chairman Edward H. Linde, Gov. Deval Patrick, Keith Lockhart and BSO Managing Dir. Mark Volpe.
Ed and Joyce were often seen attending Boston Pops concerts in Boston and at Tanglewood with their family. BSO Pops conductor Keith Lockhart expressed his thoughts on this irreplaceable leader: "Ed Linde was the model citizen/leader/philanthropist. He cared passionately for the BSO in all its manifestations. All of us at the Pops will miss his inspired leadership and his quiet and reassuring presence."

John Williams enjoyed spending time with Ed at Tanglewood. On hearing of Ed’s passing, John remarked: “The news of Ed’s passing represents a tremendous loss for all of us who knew him. It’s rare to find such an extraordinary individual as Ed Linde, whose singular intelligence, humanity, and grace lent such effectiveness to his leadership as Chairman of the BSO. In addition to his far-reaching responsibilities as Chairman, Ed’s passion and commitment to the orchestra and his special love for Tanglewood were inspiring. I will always treasure the memories I have of time spent with Ed at Tanglewood, strolling the grounds and discussing the many wonders and challenges that are part of the world of the BSO. His quiet generosity through his outstanding philanthropy in the fields of the arts, science, and education, and his remarkable business acumen make him a great example to all those who strive to reach their highest aspirations. His loss will be felt both near and far, and my heart goes out especially to Joyce and the entire Linde family at this difficult time.

[ONAS]
BSO Chairman Edward H. Linde, and his wife Joyce at Opening Night at Symphony.
The loss of Ed Linde is a deeply sad time for all of us at the Boston Symphony. Our hearts go out in sympathy to Ed’s family, in particular his children and his wonderful wife Joyce. Ed was an extraordinary citizen whose philanthropic generosity to the arts, sciences, and education has been felt far and wide, but nowhere more so than here in Boston and at the Boston Symphony. His leadership as Chairman of the BSO since 2005, and especially during this past year’s economic difficulties, has been filled with the profound wisdom, insight, and leadership that made him one of this country’s most respected and successful business leaders. We will greatly miss him and his exemplary passion for life.

Ed Linde brought kindness, wisdom, intelligence and integrity to all his activities and relationships. He is a tremendous role model for everyone that he touched. He leaves his soul mate and wife of 47 years, Joyce, his two children Doug and Karen Packman, their spouses Carol and Jeff and five grandchildren, Kate, Maddie, Sam, Julia and Hannah. A celebration of his life will take place at Boston Symphony Hall on Saturday January 16 at 11:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made for myeloma research payable to "Dana-Farber Cancer Institute" to:
Kenneth Anderson, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
44 Binney Street, M557
Boston, MA 02115

Notes of condolence for the Linde family should be sent:
c/o Suzanne Page
Boston Symphony Orchestra
301 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MA 02115

Edward H. Linde
[Edward H. Linde]

Edward H. Linde, Chief Executive Officer of Boston Properties, one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the country and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, passed away on Sunday.

Ed came to Boston in 1958 as an undergraduate student at MIT where he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1962 followed by a degree from the Harvard Business School with distinction as a Baker Scholar in 1964. He met his future wife, Joyce, when he was a sophomore, fifty years ago, and except for a brief one year stop in New York City, where he had been raised, he has been a bedrock leader in the Boston community.

Ed joined Boston’s Cabot Cabot and Forbes in 1965 where he started as a project manager and quickly became a partner responsible for the firm’s national development activities including 28 State Street and One Boston Place in Boston. Five years later he left the firm to found Boston Properties with Mort Zuckerman which now owns 146 properties and more than 49 million square feet of space in four major markets: Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, DC. Ed led the organization’s transition to a public company in 1997 and since then, the assemblage or development of some of the nation’s most iconic office buildings, including the Prudential Center in Boston, Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, the General Motors Building, 601 Lexington Avenue (formerly Citigroup Center), 399 Park Avenue in New York City, and 505 9^th Street, 901 New York Avenue, Market Square North in Washington, DC and over 3.4 million square feet in Reston, Virginia.

When asked in an interview last year about what drives him to create buildings of this magnitude, Ed said “I’m a great believer in cities. People talk about smart growth. Cities allow people of talent to congregate with other people of talent ---- and that produces steps forward that otherwise would not occur.”

Ed was a born leader and while he was a giant in the real estate world, Ed also brought his intellect, wisdom and kindness to philanthropic areas. Early on in his days in Boston he became involved in the Beth Israel Hospital, ultimately becoming the Chairman of the Board in 1989. He shared a passion for the arts which culminated in his involvement at the Boston Symphony Orchestra where he has served as Chairman since 2005. Ed spent his summers in the Berkshires and had a love for Tanglewood and especially the organization’s nurturing and training of students.

Ed’s belief in education ran the spectrum from MIT, where the Linde Foundation, started by Ed, his wife and their children, recently made a major gift to aid undergraduate financial aid, to the Roxbury Charter School where the Linde Foundation are ardent supporters. In an interview Ed said “If we can help people who really have talent and potential, then we’ll have done something of great value.” Ed was member of the MIT Corporation from 1990 to 1995 and most recently served on the MIT President’s Advisory Council on Regional Engagement and many other efforts on behalf of the Institute.

Ed was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma seven years ago at the same time his granddaughter learned she had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. His mantra was to take things one day at a time and live for the moment. His experience led to an interest in personalized medicine and was the impetus behind the creation of the Linde Family Program in Cancer Chemical Biology at Dana-Farber, and the Linde Family Professorship in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber.

He continued to engage in his passions which included horseback riding, biking, digital photography, music, art, reading and spending time with his family. Anyone who knew Ed’s grandchildren, also knew their grandfather who stood on the sidelines of every game they had with his baseball hat on backwards, monopod and digital camera in hand, snapping pictures and yelling with a deep raspy voice.

Read boston.com Obituary >