Guest ArtistsThomas Wilkins, conductor

Thomas Wilkins is Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He has held a titled position at the Hollywood Bowl since 2008 when he was named Principal Guest Conductor, and in the spring of 2014 he became Principal Conductor.

Additionally he holds positions as Music Director of the Omaha Symphony, a post he has held since 2005. Also he holds the Germeshausen Family and Youth Concert Conductor chair with the Boston Symphony. Past positions have included resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony and 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, Mr. 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.” In 2014 Mr. Wilkins received the prestigious “Outstanding Artist” award at the Nebraska Governor’s Arts Awards, for his significant contribution to music in the state.

During his conducting career, Mr. Wilkins has led orchestras throughout the United States, including the Philadelphia Orchestra (where he will return this season), the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the San Diego Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony, the Utah Symphony, Chicago’s Grant Park Symphony (where he returned this last summer) as well as the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., to name a few.

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 resides with his wife Sheri-Lee in Omaha. They are the proud parents of twin daughters, Erica and Nicole.