In Thursday’s (1/19) World-Herald (Omaha, Nebraska), Michael Kelly writes, “The conductor of the Omaha Symphony jokes that his talent for flapping his arms came from his father—who waved his arms to help pilots park commercial airliners. Maestro Thomas Wilkins spends a lot of time at airports, but not on the tarmac. Though Omaha is home, he flies around the country often, much in demand to conduct other symphonies. This week he led the Philadelphia Orchestra in a Martin Luther King Day tribute. He is the principal guest conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. And he recently became the first African-American conductor in the 131-year history of the Boston Symphony, where he leads youth and family concerts. In naming Wilkins one of Boston’s ‘Best People and Ideas of 2011,’ the Boston Globe called him gregarious and inspiring, ‘a burst of fresh energy … In other words, your grandfather’s conductor he is not.’ … He recalled his first orchestral thrill, a class field trip to hear the Norfolk, Va., symphony when he was 8. … His goal is to ‘raise a new generation of concertgoers—not because they are ticket-buyers, but because they love music.’ ”
Posted January 20, 2012
