Thomas Wilkins said Thursday morning he’s happy that the Omaha Symphony has extended his contract as music director through the 2014-15 season.
Representatives of the symphony and its players said they are also pleased to have Wilkins on board for three more years. He was hired in 2005 on a four-year contract, which was extended in 2007 through the 2011-12 season. The symphony announced the new extension on Wednesday. Symphony representatives declined to reveal his salary.
Wilkins, 54, said the progress of the orchestra since he arrived in Omaha has been fantastic.
“I think there is a different energy and passion in the way these guys play that I’m really excited about,” Wilkins said. “Every conductor has his own personality in regard to the tone of an orchestra. I like a warm sound with a lot of bloom.”
Pamela Cleary, interim president and chief executive officer of the symphony, said Wilkins fits well with the orchestra’s mission.
“He believes in our education program and service to the community, and he’s a tremendous musical talent,” Cleary said. “He really relates to the audiences, and he’s a good leader within the orchestra.”
First violinist Rico Amador said he’d just heard of the extension Thursday morning and was pleased.
“It’s always good to have consistency,” Amador said. “He’s the type of music director who has an empowering philosophy of leadership. He allows principal players to play their solos the way they feel it. He tries to stay out of the way and lets them shape the piece. He lets us convince him of our own musical ideas. He’s really brought us to the next step musically.”
Wilkins said he’d hired a lot of new players over the past five years, particularly in the wind section. His goal is to gradually grow the core orchestra from the present 36 full-time players to “the neighborhood of 45 to 48 players.”
“I want to make sure we don’t grow too fast. I want us to be sustainable,” he said of possible expansion. “And we must continue nurturing the work ethic, our servanthood to the music.”
He said he’s also seen progress in the number and range of community partners the symphony has nurtured, and with the educational outreach programs that “teach people in this community from birth to death.”
“That was a reason I came on board in the first place, this other mission beyond creating great music,” Wilkins said. “We’re nurturing young composers and conductors.”
He said he has discovered his musicians have the hearts of teachers. They want to be good artists, but they also love to teach, he said.
“I want us to be like the Nebraska Medical Center, a place at the front of its class in medical care but also a great teaching hospital. That’s what I want us to be — an orchestra that prepares future artists.”
The symphony will celebrate its 90th anniversary in March. D. David Slosburg, chairman of the symphony’s board of directors, said the board believes in Wilkins’ vision and looks forward to continued artistic growth for the symphony under Wilkins’ baton.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1269, bob.fischbach@owh.com
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