Albert K. Webster

1937 - 2020
Albert K. "Nick" Webster, of New York City, NY, died on Friday, April 3, 2020 at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where he lived with his wife Dr. Sara (Sally) Beyer Webster for 60 years. He was 82 years old.

Born in Brooklyn, New York on October 14, 1937 he lived his early years in Ridgewood N.J., graduating from Ridgewood High School in 1955. He graduated from Harvard University in 1959 with a degree in Physics. He was a member of the Harvard Glee Club and was the undergraduate manager. He also studied with Nadia Boulanger in France for two summers. After graduating, he returned to manage the Harvard Glee Club's trip to the Far East in the Summer of 1961 and the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra tour of Mexico in 1963.

In 1962, he and his wife Sally and moved to New York City. He joined the New York Philharmonic (NYP) as assistant to Carlos Mosley and in 1965 was appointed assistant manager of the NYP. He served as the general manager of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 1971-75 and returned to the NYP as the managing director with music directors Pierre Boulez and Zubin Mehta. He became the executive vice president and managing director of the NYP from 1978-1990.

Upon his retirement in 1990, he remained an arts consultant based in NYC from 1991 - 2020 with such clients as the: Bush Foundation; BETA; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; The Juilliard School. He served on the Board of Directors for the League of American Orchestras, the American Composers Orchestra, the American Music Center, the Harvard Pierian Foundation, New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, and the Maine Coast Artists. Additionally, he was a board member of the Great Pond Conservation Trust in Maine, where he had a family vacation home in Surry on Toddy Pond.

He is survived by his wife, Dr. Sally Beyer Webster; daughter, Dr. Kate Webster and her wife Marsha East; daughter-in-law Kristina Stierholz and three grandchildren, Karl, Lillian, and Eric. He is preceded in death by his son, Albert V.B. Webster.

A memorial service will be held later in the year. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to: 1) The Harvard Glee Club Foundation https://hgcalumni.org/online-donati
on; or 2) The American Composers Orchestra: https://donorbox.org/aco-general-do
nation-form; or 3) The Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust: https://www.greatpondtrust.org/ways
-of-giving/