# Toby Saks

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{{Infobox musical artist
| name        = Toby Saks
| image       = <!-- just the filename, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing [brackets](/source/brackets) -->
| alt         =
| caption     =
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1942|1|8|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = [New York City](/source/New_York_City), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)), U.S.
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|2013|8|1|1942|1|8|mf=yes}}
| death_place = [Seattle](/source/Seattle), [Washington](/source/Washington_(state)), U.S.
| occupation  = Founder and Artistic Director of [Seattle Chamber Music Society](/source/Seattle_Chamber_Music_Society)<br/>[New York Philharmonic](/source/New_York_Philharmonic)
| instrument  = [Cello](/source/Cello)
}}

'''Toby Saks''' (January 8, 1942 – August 1, 2013) was an American [cellist](/source/Cello), the founder of the [Seattle Chamber Music Society](/source/Seattle_Chamber_Music_Society) and a member of the [New York Philharmonic](/source/New_York_Philharmonic).<ref name=KUOW/><ref name=Times/>

==Music history==
Born in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) 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.<ref name=KUOW/> She studied at New York's [High School of Performing Arts](/source/High_School_of_Performing_Arts) and later at the [Juilliard School](/source/Juilliard_School) with [Leonard Rose](/source/Leonard_Rose).<ref name=KUOW/><ref name=Times/> She gave prize-winning performances at the [International Tchaikovsky Competition](/source/International_Tchaikovsky_Competition) in [Moscow](/source/Moscow) and the Casals Competition in [Israel](/source/Israel).<ref name=Times2/> In 1964, she won a [Young Concert Artists](/source/Young_Concert_Artists)'s award.

In 1971, she joined the New York Philharmonic, one of the first women to do so.<ref name=KUOW/><ref name=Times/> However, over the years, Saks grew to dislike playing in an orchestra and, in 1976, accepted a faculty position in the [University of Washington](/source/University_of_Washington)'s music department, where she replaced the retiring [Eva Heinitz](/source/Eva_Heinitz).<ref name=Times2/>

==Seattle Chamber Music Society==
In 1982, Saks said that she missed performing publicly and that [Seattle](/source/Seattle) lacked a major outlet for classical music performers.<ref name=KUOW/><ref name=Times/> In response, Saks founded the [Seattle Chamber Music Society](/source/Seattle_Chamber_Music_Society), which hosts 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.<ref name=KUOW>{{cite web|url=http://kuow.org/post/toby-saks-founder-seattle-chamber-music-society-dead-71 |title=Toby Saks, Founder Of Seattle Chamber Music Society, Dead At 71|author=Beck, Dave|date=August 1, 2013|work=[KUOW-FM](/source/KUOW-FM) |accessdate=August 2, 2013}}</ref> In 2012 Saks chose her replacement. He was [James Ehnes](/source/James_Ehnes), a former festival artist.<ref name=KUOW/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://thesunbreak.com/2011/07/24/seattle-chamber-music-society-bids-farewell-to-founder-toby-saks/ |title=Seattle Chamber Music Society Bids Farewell to Founder Toby Saks|author=Kiraly, Philippa|date=July 24, 2011 |work=TheSunBreak.com |accessdate=August 2, 2013}}</ref><ref name=Times>{{cite web |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/thearts/2015510230_tobysaks05.html |title=Departing Toby Saks: Chamber-music festival is 'rolling smoothly' |author=Bargreen, Melinda |date=July 4, 2011 |work=[The Seattle Times](/source/The_Seattle_Times) |accessdate=August 2, 2013}}</ref>

==Personal life==
In the late 1960s, Saks married philosopher and author [David Berlinski](/source/David_Berlinski) and had two children, daughter [Claire](/source/Claire_Berlinski) (born 1968) and son [Mischa](/source/Mischa_Berlinski) (born 1973), both of whom are published authors.<ref name=KUOW/><ref name=Times/><ref name=Times2/> Saks and Berlinski later divorced.{{When|date=August 2013}}

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.<ref name=Times2>{{cite web |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/obituaries/2021520938_tobysaksobituaryxml.html |title=Acclaimed Seattle musician Toby Saks dies |author=Bargreen |date=August 2, 2013 |work=The Seattle Times|accessdate=August 2, 2013}}</ref>

Saks was the elder sister of record producer [Jay David Saks](/source/Jay_David_Saks).<ref name="TobySakstribute">{{cite web | author= | title=A Celebration of the Life of Toby Saks | url=https://www.seattlechambermusic.org/wp-content/uploads/TobySaks_MemorialProgramBooklet.pdf | work=Seattle Chamber Music Society | date=2013-10-14 | access-date=2025-01-11}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Portal|Classical music}}

{{Authority control}}

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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Toby Saks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Saks) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Saks?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.