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Michael Tilson Thomas facts for kids

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Michael Tilson Thomas
MTTKeepingScore.jpg
Tilson Thomas in 2008
Background information
Born (1944-12-21) December 21, 1944 (age 80)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres Classical
Occupation(s) Conductor, pianist, composer

Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is a famous American conductor, pianist, and composer. He is known for leading many orchestras around the world. He is the Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony. He is also the Music Director Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony. Plus, he is the Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra. He gave his last performance with the San Francisco Symphony in April 2025.

About Michael Tilson Thomas

Early Life and Family

Michael Tilson Thomas was born in Los Angeles, California, on December 21, 1944. His father, Ted Thomas, was a stage manager for Broadway shows. His mother, Roberta Thomas, was a middle school history teacher.

His grandparents, Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, were famous stars in Yiddish theater. This family talent goes back many generations. His great-grandfather, Pincus, was an actor and playwright. Before that, his family had many cantors, who are singers in religious services.

Education and Training

Michael was an only child and showed musical talent very early. He studied piano with John Crown. He also learned composition and conducting from Ingolf Dahl. This was at the University of Southern California.

He graduated from the USC Thornton School of Music. He also worked as a Musical Assistant at the Bayreuth Festival.

Personal Life and Health

Tilson Thomas lives in San Francisco with his husband, Joshua Robison. They have been partners for over 40 years. They got married on November 2, 2014.

In August 2021, he shared that he was diagnosed with a serious type of brain cancer. Despite this, he continued to conduct. In January 2022, he led the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This was his first concert since his diagnosis. He was greeted with great warmth by the audience.

In February 2025, he announced that his brain tumor had returned. His final public concert was on April 26, 2025. He conducted the San Francisco Symphony for a special birthday celebration.

His Amazing Career in Music

Leading Orchestras and Modern Music

Tilson Thomas has conducted many different kinds of music. He especially loves to support modern American music. He is also famous for his performances of music by Gustav Mahler. He has recorded all nine of Mahler's symphonies with the San Francisco Symphony.

These recordings were released on the San Francisco Symphony's own label. He is also known for playing music by Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, and Steve Reich.

His Own Compositions

Michael Tilson Thomas is also a composer. Some of his own musical pieces include:

  • From the Diary of Anne Frank (1990)
  • Shówa/Shoáh (1995), which remembered the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima
  • Poems of Emily Dickinson (2002)
  • Urban Legend (2002)
  • Meditations on Rilke (2019)

Music Education and Young Musicians

Tilson Thomas cares a lot about teaching music. He leads a series of educational programs called Keeping Score. These programs help people understand the lives and music of great composers. He also led Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic.

In 1987, he started the New World Symphony in Miami. This is a special school for talented young musicians. Its goal is to help them become leaders in orchestras around the world. He also helped create the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center in Miami Beach.

More recently, Tilson Thomas led the YouTube Symphony Orchestra twice. This project brought young musicians from all over the world together. They spent a week making music and learning.

He is also the president of the Tomashefsky Project. This project aims to record and save the theatrical achievements of his grandparents.

Working in Different Cities

Early Years: Boston, Buffalo, New York, and Los Angeles

From 1968 to 1994, Tilson Thomas was the Music Director of the Ojai Music Festival seven times. In 1969, he won a special prize at Tanglewood. He then became Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He became famous at age 24 when he stepped in to conduct for an unwell conductor.

He stayed with the Boston Symphony until 1974. He was also the music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1971 to 1979. Between 1971 and 1977, he led the Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic.

Michael Tilson Thomas 1977
Thomas conducting the New York Philharmonic Young People's Concert, 1977.

From 1981 to 1985, he was a main guest conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. During a concert in 1985, a police helicopter flew over the venue. This interrupted the music! Tilson Thomas left the stage for a moment. In 2007, he returned to the same place and joked, "Now where were we?"

New World and London Orchestras

In 1987, Tilson Thomas founded the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. This is an orchestra academy for young musicians. He helped develop the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center in Miami Beach. He is now the Artistic Director Laureate of this group.

From 1988 to 1995, Tilson Thomas was the main conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO). He recorded many pieces with them. Since 2016, he has been their conductor laureate.

Leading the San Francisco Symphony

Tilson Thomas became the San Francisco Symphony's 11th Music Director in 1995. He first conducted them in 1974. In his first season, he made sure to include music by American composers in almost every concert.

In 2000, he and the San Francisco Symphony held a special "American Mavericks Festival." This festival celebrated new and different works by American composers. During his time there, the orchestra also started releasing its own recordings.

In 2005, he conducted a special show called The Thomashefskys: Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater. This was a tribute to his grandparents. Many other orchestras have performed this show too.

In 2009, he worked with YouTube to create the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. Musicians from 30 countries were chosen from video auditions. They came together for a week of music and learning. The event ended with a live concert at Carnegie Hall. He also conducted the second YouTube Symphony Orchestra in Sydney in 2011.

In 2017, it was announced that he would finish his time as music director of the San Francisco Symphony in 2020. He then became their music director laureate.

Film and Television Appearances

Tilson Thomas first appeared on TV in the Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic. These aired from 1971 to 1977. He has also been on PBS many times.

In 1976, he appeared with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in a TV special. It was called Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals. This show combined live action with cartoons.

He hosted the Keeping Score television series. These were documentary-style episodes and live concerts. They started airing on PBS in 2006. In these shows, he and the San Francisco Symphony explored the lives and music of famous composers.

Awards and Honors

Michael Tilson Thomas has won many important awards for his work:

  • National Medal of Arts
    • 2009: A special award from the U.S. government for his contributions to the arts.
  • Kennedy Center Honor
    • 2019: One of the highest honors for performing artists in the U.S.

See also

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