Repertoire
Milhaud: La création du monde, Op. 81a (1923)
Martin: Ballade for viola and wind orchestra (1972)
Chadwick: Symphony No. 3 in F Major (1894)

About the Artists

Thomas Wilkins is principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, artistic partner for education and external engagement and Germeshausen Family and Youth Concerts Conductor Chair with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and professor of music (conducting) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he holds the Henry A. Upper Chair of Orchestral Conducting, established by the late Barbara and David Jacobs as a part of Indiana University’s Matching the Promise Campaign. He is also music director laureate of the Omaha Symphony, where he was music director from 2005 through 2021, and principal guest conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Past positions have included resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony and the Florida Orchestra (Tampa Bay) and associate conductor of the Richmond (Virginia) Symphony. He also has served on the music faculties of North Park University (Chicago), University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Devoted to promoting a life-long 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. He has guest conducted orchestras throughout the United States. Wilkins’ 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 Preparatory Center both in St. Petersburg, Florida. 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, Virginia, which provides children throughout Central America and the Caribbean with critical surgical and diagnostic care. A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Wilkins is a graduate of the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music (Boston). He and his wife, Sheri-Lee, are the proud parents of twin daughters, Erica and Nicole.

Stephen Wyrczynski is currently professor of music in viola at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He was a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra for 18 years, joining them in 1992. Wyrczynski regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician. He prioritizes faculty-student collaborations. One such partnership, which he cofounded with the late violinist Jorja Fleezanis, was an exploration of music from the Second Viennese School, in which faculty and students together performed music by Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg. Wyrczynski considers his teaching a direct result of his own relationship to performing, practicing, and listening. Teaching a student about the great privilege it is to serve the composers of our repertoire is one of the best ways for the students to gain ownership of their musical training. Most recently, he has completed a transcription of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring with pianist Aram Arakelyan. Wyrczynski and Arakelyan gave the world premiere in the fall of 2024 and recorded it for Azica Records in the summer of 2025 with producer Alan Bise. A printed edition is published by Songburd Music. Wyrczynski will join the faculty of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in 2027.