Thomas Wilkins
Principal Conductor, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
About this Artist
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; in the spring of 2014, he became Principal Conductor.
In addition, he is the Boston Symphony’s Artistic Partner for Education and Community Engagement and Germeshausen Youth and Family Concerts Conductor; Indiana University’s Henry A. Upper Chair of Orchestral Conducting, a position established by the late Barbara and David Jacobs; and Principal Guest Conductor of the Virginia Symphony. At the close of the 2020/21 season, he ended his long and successful tenure as Music Director of the Omaha Symphony.
Devoted to promoting a lifelong enthusiasm for music, 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, Wilkins received the prestigious Outstanding Artist award at the Nebraska Governor’s Arts Awards for his significant contribution to music in the state, and in March 2018, the Longy School of Music at Bard College honored him with the Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society.
In 2019, the Virginia Symphony bestowed Wilkins with its annual Dreamer Award. In 2022, the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award for Music, the Boston Conservatory awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Arts, and he was the recipient of the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton Award. He has led orchestras throughout the United States.
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 as well as the Academy Prep Center, both in St. Petersburg, FL. Currently he serves as chairman of the board of the Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund and as national ambassador for the nonprofit 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 and the New England Conservatory. He and his wife, Sheri-Lee, are the proud parents of twin daughters, Erica and Nicole.