Thomas, Michael Tilson (21st
December 1944-Present)
He is an orchestral conductor, composer and pianist born
in Los
Angeles, California
to the Broadway stage manager Ted Thomas.He studied at the University
of Southern California and
while he was under the tutelage of Friedlinde
Wagner he was an Assistant Conductor at the Bayreuth Festival.His debut was in 1969 with the Boston
Symphony Orchestra where he replaced the conductor mid-concert when he took
ill.He carried on with the as
an Assistant Conductor until 1974 when he became Music Director of the
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.He has been the Principal Conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra,
the San Francisco Symphony and a Principal Guest Conductor with the Los
Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra as well as conducting the Young People's
Concerts in the 1970s with the New York Philharmonic.In 1987 he founded the New World
Symphony in Miami, Florida,
and he is currently their Artistic Director.A champion of American composers he
is thought to be the leading interpreter of Aaron Copland's
compositions.He is also a
composer in his own right and has written works that include Poems of Emily Dickinson, Urban Legend
and From the Diary of Anne Frank.Appearing on numerous recordings he
has been the recipient of 7 Grammy Awards, has been featured in the films Manhattanand the Carnival of the Animals, has appeared in many television programmes
and is the host of the TV series Keeping
Score.
