Conductor Thomas Wilkins asks orchestras to 'jump off a cliff' with him

For a soloist, working with a conductor for the first time is like a blind date — one that takes place in front of around 100 people. Typically, you have a quick, private meeting to go over any special thoughts about the music. But then you move to the stage where the orchestra musicians are waiting, and you take the piece from the top for the first time. That’s when you find out if you have musical chemistry. Just like a first date, it can all go terribly wrong, for any number of reasons. But when I had my first rehearsal with Thomas Wilkins and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra last year, it was clear that we were a match.

Thom and I just got each other, and we had so much fun during those days in Indianapolis. I think that’s because we are both deeply committed to finding the joy in music. We have a fluid approach, a healthy disregard for boundaries of genre, and we keep our ears and minds open to new understandings. This is instinctive, but also intentional — part and parcel of our common goal of opening the doors to music, widening its reach and connecting people.

Thom has an eclectic, multi-faceted life in music. One day he’s working with Earth, Wind & Fire at the Hollywood Bowl, where he has been principal conductor since 2014, the next with classical soloists at the Boston Symphony Orchestra or Virginia Symphony, where he holds resident positions. He loves the constant pivoting, the creative journey that this career offers. After all, as he says in our conversation, “music is just music.”

He’s also a devoted teacher and mentor as chair of orchestral conducting at the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. For him, part of teaching is learning from your students, and part of mentoring is taking cues from the next generation, showing respect for what’s to come, acknowledging our shortcomings, knowing that we don’t have all the answers. What if everyone in a position of leadership lived by those words? I think the world would be a much better place.