Major US orchestra chief is battling cancer

We are very sorry to hear that Anne Parsons, president of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, has been diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer.

She has delivered a full assessment to her colleagues and is staying very positive, though she may need to take some time off for treatment.

Anne is one of the heroes of the American music scene, having turned Detroit around from despair to hope.

We send her all good wishes for a full recovery.

Here’s a statement from the orchestra:

This fall, DSO President and CEO Anne Parsons was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer. Her doctors at the Henry Ford Health System have done extensive testing and found several options for treatment. As a lifelong non-smoker and an overall healthy and positive individual, Anne has many reasons to feel optimistic, and she plans on working throughout her treatment. As her plan has recently moved to a stage involving a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, she wanted to be fully transparent with her DSO family about potential changes to her schedule. In sharing this news, Anne specified that her two goals are to do everything she can to stabilize her health and to ensure that the DSO continues to thrive and is not adversely affected by her personal circumstances. Together, the DSO and Anne aim to be completely transparent about this matter, and we will provide updates if necessary. As there is currently little change foreseen to the daily operations of the orchestra, this will be our only statement on this personal health news at this time.