Winter Wonderland - Young People's Family Concert Series - December 11, 2021

WINTER WONDERLAND Saturday, December 11, 2021 11 AM Orchestra Hall

WINTER WONDERLAND Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 11 a.m. in Orchestra Hall Thomas Wilkins, conductor

Leroy Anderson (1908-1975)

Sleigh Ride

Sean O'Loughlin (b. 1972)

Joy to the Season Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!

Patapan It Came Upon a Midnight Clear Joy to the World

Valerie Coleman (b. 1970)

Umoja: Anthem of Unity

arr. Dana Friedman & Robert Wendel

A Chanukah Overture Ma'oz Tzur Rock of My Security (Rock of Ages) Al HaNissim I Have a Little Dreidel S'vivon

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

"Suite No. 1" from The Nutcracker, Op. 71a Dance of the Reed Flutes Russian Dance Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Waltz of the Flowers

Georges Bizet (1838-1875)

"Farandole" from L'Arlésienne Suite No. 2

John Williams & Patrick Doyle (b. 1932) (b. 1953)

"Potter Waltz" from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Alan Silvestri & Glen Ballard (b. 1950) (b.1953) arr. Jerry Brubaker (b. 1946)

The Polar Express

SPONSORED BY

Thomas Wilkins, conductor Thomas Wilkins is Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Artistic Advisor, Education and Community Engagement, Principal Guest Conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and holds Indiana University’s Henry A. Upper Chair of Orchestral Conducting, established by the late Barbara and David Jacobs as a part of the university’s “Matching the Promise Campaign.” He completed his long and successful tenure as Music Director of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra at the close of the 2020–2021 season. Other past positions have included resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and The Florida Orchestra, and associate conductor of the Richmond Symphony. He also has served on the music faculties of North Park University in Chicago, the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

Devoted to promoting a lifelong 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.

Following his highly successful first season with the Boston Symphony Orchesta, The Boston Globe named him among the “Best People and Ideas of 2011.” In 2014, Wilkins received the prestigious “Outstanding Artist” award at the Nebraska Governor’s Arts Awards for his significant contribution to music in the state. In 2018, he received the Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society conferred by Boston’s Longy School of Music. In 2019, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra bestowed Wilkins with their annual Dreamer Award.

During his conducting career, he has led orchestras throughout the United States, including the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he has guest conducted the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, the symphonies of Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Baltimore, San Diego, and Utah, and the Buffalo and Rochester Philharmonics, as well as at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago.

A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Thomas Wilkins is a graduate of the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He and his wife Sheri-Lee are the proud parents of twin daughters, Erica and Nicole.