FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Stephanie Ludwig
Public Relations Manager
Office 402.661.8587
Cell 402.350.4071
[email protected]
Thomas Wilkins extends tenure as Music Director through Centennial Season
Wilkins will become Music Director Emeritus after 2020-2021 season
OMAHA, Neb., Mar. 16, 2017- Omaha Symphony Music Director Thomas Wilkins will become the symphony’s
longest-serving music director with the extension of his contract through the symphony’s 2020-2021 centennial
season. Omaha Symphony Association Chairman D. David Slosburg announced today that Wilkins has signed a
new three-year agreement to remain as music director through the 2020-2021 season, whereupon he will become
Music Director Emeritus.
“Thomas Wilkins has provided outstanding leadership to the Omaha Symphony for more than a decade,” said
Slosburg. “We are thrilled that he will lead the orchestra for the next four years as we plan our centennial
celebration, and we are deeply honored that he will accept the title of Music Director Emeritus after the
centennial season.”
Wilkins began his tenure in 2005. His 16 seasons as music director will make him the longest-serving of the 12
conductors who have served as music director of the Omaha Symphony since its establishment in March 1921.
During his time as music director, Thomas Wilkins has overseen increases in orchestra personnel, attracted larger
audiences, led an unusually wide range of concerts, expanded programming, and forged new ties to the
community.
•
•
•
•
Under his watch, the number of full-time musicians in the orchestra has increased from 38 to 42
musicians. Wilkins has hired 12 of the 42 full-time musicians (29%). Overall, he has hired 24 of the 70
musicians (34%) who currently hold annual contracts with the orchestra, including both full-time and
part-time musicians.
Attendance at Omaha Symphony concerts in the Holland Center and Joslyn Art Museum set a record in
the 2015-2016 season, surpassing 75,000 concertgoers, a 33% increase since the 2011-2012 season.
From the beginning of his tenure, Wilkins has committed to conducting the full gamut of the orchestra’s
programs, including concerts in the MasterWorks, Symphony Joslyn, Family, Symphony Pops, and
Movie Music series – an unusually broad range of programs for any orchestra’s music director. In
addition, he has conducted numerous free concerts in the community, including concerts at Turner Park,
Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park, and the Salvation Army Kroc Center.
Among the programs he has added to the orchestra’s offerings are Educator as Maestro, in which school
music teachers improve their conducting skills; New Music Symposium, which affords university-level
composers the chance to work alongside a master composer and the orchestra in a workshop experience;
and Sounding Together, which gives business executives a unique teambuilding experience as they
witness the orchestra preparing for a performance.
-More-
•
Recognizing the importance of community, Wilkins has forged alliances between the Omaha Symphony
and many Omaha-area service organizations, including Girls Inc., Salvation Army Kroc Center, Avenue
Scholars, and others.
“Thomas has been much more than our music director,” said David Slosburg. “He has been a passionate
supporter of music education for children and community engagement. He is a tremendous advocate for the
symphony and a personal friend. His commitment to serve the orchestra over the next four years will allow us
sufficient time to form a committee of the orchestra’s stakeholders to identify a successor.”
“From day one, this orchestra and community have been, and continue to be, a tremendous blessing to me and
my family,” Wilkins said. “I am profoundly grateful not only to have been a part of the Omaha Symphony’s rich
history but also its vibrant present and even more exciting future.”
In addition to serving as the music director of the Omaha Symphony, Thomas Wilkins is Principal Conductor of
the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and holds the Germeshausen Family and Youth Concert Conductor chair with
the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He is greatly in demand as a guest conductor for other major orchestras,
including New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, and the National Symphony in
Washington, D.C. For his accomplishments as a music director and community leader, Wilkins was presented
the Outstanding Artist Award at the 2014 Nebraska Governors Arts Awards.
“Thomas Wilkins enjoys a reputation as one of the finest conductors in the country,” said James M. Johnson,
President and CEO of the Omaha Symphony. “Equally important, he has made his name by reaching into the
community to connect with people of every background and standing. He is an inspiring leader and has set a
high bar for a successor.”
The Omaha Symphony is a non-profit organization that presents more than 100 live orchestral performances from September through June. In addition to
MasterWorks, Symphony Pops, Symphony Rocks, Movie Music, Symphony Joslyn, and Family series concerts, the Omaha Symphony’s nationally recognized
education programs touch the lives of nearly 30,000 schoolchildren each year. For tickets or information regarding the Omaha Symphony, call 402-345-0606
or visit omahasymphony.org.
###