Devoted to promoting a life-long enthusiasm for music, Thomas Wilkins brings energy and commitment to audiences of all ages.  He is hailed as a master at communicating and connecting with audiences.  Mr. Wilkins is Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra; the Boston Symphony’s Artistic Partner and Community Engagement and Germeshausen Youth and Family Concert Conductor; Principal Guest Conductor of the Virginia Symphony, and holds Indiana University’s Henry A. Upper Chair of Orchestral Conducting established by the late Barbara and David Jacobs as a part of that 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 and Florida Orchestra (Tampa Bay), and associate conductor of the Richmond (VA) Symphony.  He also has served on the music faculties of North Park University (Chicago), the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. 
 
Following his highly successful first season with the Boston Symphony, 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 while in 2018 Thomas Wilkins 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 bestowed Thomas Wilkins with their annual Dreamer Award.  And in 2022 the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards presented him with their Lifetime Achievement Award for Music, the Boston Conservatory awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Arts, and he was the recipient of the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton Award.
 
During his conducting career, he has led orchestras throughout the United States, including the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony and the National Symphony.  Additionally, he has guest conducted the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, the Symphonies of Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Baltimore, San Diego, Seattle, Louisiana, North Carolina and Utah, and the Buffalo and Rochester Philharmonics, as well as at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago to name a few.
 
His commitment to community has been demonstrated by his participation on several boards of directors, including the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, the Charles Drew Health Center (Omaha), the Center Against Spouse Abuse in Tampa Bay, and the Museum of Fine Arts as well as the Academy Preparatory Center both in St. Petersburg, FL.  Currently he serves as chairman of the board for the Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund and as national ambassador for the non-profit World Pediatric Project headquartered in Richmond, VA, which provides children throughout Central America and the Caribbean with critical surgical and diagnostic care.
 
A native of Norfolk, VA, 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.

Kenneth Thompkins was appointed Principal Trombone of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra by Neeme Järvi. Prior to this appointment, he held positions in the Buffalo Philharmonic and The Florida Orchestra and performed with the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. A former participant in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s African American Orchestra Fellowship program, he has served as a mentor to several orchestra fellows.

Thompkins has been invited to perform and conduct masterclasses at many music schools including the Curtis Institute of Music, the Mannes College of Music, the University of Michigan, and the Interlochen Arts Academy. An active chamber musician, Thompkins performs frequently in recitals and is a member of Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings. He has performed concertos with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and New World Symphony.

Thompkins has toured Europe with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He can be heard on recordings with the Detroit Chamber Winds, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. His solo trombone recording; Sonatas, Songs and Spirituals, features the music of Alec Wilder, Philip Wharton, Stephen A. Taylor, and William Grant Still. Sonatas, Songs and Spirituals is a 2018–2019 winner of The American Prize in Instrumental Performance. He has also contributed a chapter to The Brass Player's Cookbook: Creative Recipes for a Successful Performance.

Thompkins received his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University studying with the late Frank Crisafulli of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and his master’s degree from Temple University studying with Eric Carlson of the Philadelphia Orchestra.