Michael Tilson Thomas
Former Principal Guest Conductor
Michael Tilson Thomas was Music Director Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra, Co-Founder and Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, and Distinguished Professor of Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He was a 12-time Grammy Award winner and conducted the major orchestras of Europe and the United States.
Born in Los Angeles, he studied conducting and composition with Ingolf Dahl at the University of Southern California and, as a young musician, worked with artists including Igor Stravinsky and Aaron Copland. In his mid-20s, he became Assistant Conductor—and later Principal Guest Conductor—of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He subsequently served as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.
In 1987, he co-founded the New World Symphony, a postgraduate orchestral academy in Miami Beach dedicated to preparing young musicians of diverse backgrounds for leadership roles in classical music. He worked with more than 1,200 NWS Fellows, many of whom have gone on to major musical careers.
Tilson Thomas became Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony in 1995, ushering in a period of significant growth and heightened international recognition for the orchestra, championing contemporary and American composers alongside classical masters.
His discography includes more than 120 recordings, and his television work includes series for the BBC and PBS, the New York Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concerts, and numerous televised performances. His profile “Michael Tilson Thomas: Where Now Is” aired on PBS’ American Masters series in fall 2020.
Throughout his career, he was an active composer, with major works including From the Diary of Anne Frank, premiered with narrator Audrey Hepburn, and Meditations on Rilke. Both appear on SFS Media’s recent Grammy Award-winning recording of his music. In 2023, Yuja Wang and Teddy Abrams released a recording on DG that included Tilson Thomas’ You Come Here Often?, which won a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo.
He was an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France, a member of the American Academies of Arts & Sciences and Arts & Letters, a National Medal of Arts recipient, and a 2019 Kennedy Center Honoree.
Three major recording projects were released in 2024 in celebration of his 80th birthday: GRACE: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas, a four-disc box set of Tilson Thomas’ compositions on Pentatone; The Complete Columbia, CBS, and RCA Recordings on Sony Classical; and the Complete Deutsche Grammophon & Argo Recordings on DG Eloquence.
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Michael Tilson Thomas on Spotify
Listen to Michael Tilson Thomas on Spotify.
Podcast: Celebrating MTT with Brian Lauritzen • LA Phil 2024/25
KUSC’s Brian Lauritzen delves into Celebrating MTT.
A Celebration for a Maestro: MTT
Podcast: Michael Tilson Thomas Leads Tchaikovsky with Russell Steinberg • LA Phil 2023/24
Conductor Russell Steinberg discusses Michael Tilson Thomas Leads Tchaikovsky.
Podcast: MTT Conducts Mahler 9 with Brian Lauritzen • LA Phil 2022/23
KUSC’s Brian Lauritzen delves into Mahler’s Symphony No. 9.
Podcast: Prokofiev and MTT with Thomas Neenan
Professor of music at Caltech, Thomas Neenan, discusses music by Prokofiev, Michael Tilson Thomas and Fauré.
Mälkki, Salonen, and MTT: 100 Years of Shakespeare at the Phil
The innovative staging of Shakespearean works, the music of the Finnish master, and the unique role of the Principal Guest Conductor are all important parts of the LA Phil’s history.
