Schuyler Garrison Chapin

Schuyler Garrison Chapin , 1923–2009, American operatic manager and cultural impresario, b. New York City. The scion of an old and distinguished American family, he studied composition with Nadia Boulanger but found his talents lay elsewhere. In 1953 he joined Columbia Artists as tour manager; he also served with Columbia Records as director of artists and repertoire. From 1964 until 1969 he was vice president in charge of programming at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Upon the death (1972) of Goeran Gentele (whose assistant he had been), Chapin succeeded him as acting general manager and then as general manager of the Metropolitan Opera , a position he held until 1976. He was dean of the Columbia Univ. School of the Arts from 1976 to 1987, when he became dean emeritus. From 1994 to 2001, Chapin served as commissioner of New York City's Dept. of Cultural Affairs. He wrote Leonard Bernstein: Notes from a Friend (1992) and Sopranos, Mezzos, Tenors, Bassos and Other Friends (1995).

Bibliography: See his Musical Chairs: A Life in the Arts (1978).