Thomas Wilkins
Music Director of the Omaha Symphony since 2005, Thomas Wilkins also holds the positions of Principal Guest Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra as well as the Germeshausen Family and Youth Concert Conductor’s Chair with the Boston Symphony. Past positions have included Resident Conductor of the Detroit Symphony, the Florida Orchestra (Tampa Bay), and Associate Conductor of the Richmond (VA) Symphony. He also has served on the music faculties of North Park University (Chicago), the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
Devoted to promoting a life-long enthusiasm for music, Thomas Wilkins brings energy and commitment to audiences of all ages. He is hailed as a master at communicating and connecting with audiences. Following his highly successful first season with the Boston Symphony, the Boston Globe named him among the “Best People and Ideas of 2011.”
During his conducting career, he has led orchestras throughout the United States, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony, the Utah Symphony, and the National Symphony in Washington, D.C. to name a few.
He continues to make frequent appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony, the San Diego Symphony, and the New Jersey Symphony. Last season, he made debuts with the orchestras of Phoenix, Sarasota, Naples, and Long Beach, CA, while this season, he returned to the orchestras of Phoenix, Columbus, and conducted three programs at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony; he will conduct that orchestra at Wolf Trap this summer.
His commitment to community has been demonstrated by his participation on several Boards of Directors, including the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, the Charles Drew Health Center (Omaha), the Center Against Spouse Abuse in Tampa Bay, and the Museum of Fine Arts and the Academy Preparatory Center, both in St. Petersburg, FL. Currently, he serves as Chairman of the Board for the Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund and as National Ambassador for the non-profit World Pediatric Project, headquartered in Richmond, VA, which provides children throughout Central America and the Caribbean with critical surgical and diagnostic care.
A native of Norfolk, VA, Thomas Wilkins is a graduate of the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He and his wife, Sheri-Lee, are the proud parents of twin daughters, Erica and Nicole.
