Born in Los Angeles in 1944, Michael Tilson Thomas began his formal studies in music at the University of Southern California where he studied piano, conducting and composition. At the age of nineteen he was named music director of the Young Musicians´ Foundation Debut Orchestra. He worked with Stravinsky, Copland and Stockhausen on the premieres of their compositions at the Los Angeles´ Monday evening concerts. During this time he acted as pianist and conductor for Heifetz and Piatigorsky, and, as a student of Friedelind Wagner, was Musical Assistant at the Bayreuth Festival.
In 1969, after winning the Koussevitzky Prize at Tanglewood, he was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The same year he made his New York debut in unusual circumstances; he gained international recognition overnight after replacing BSO Music Director William Steinberg in mid-concert. He was later appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he remained until 1974.
Michael Tilson Thomas was Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic (1971-79) and Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1981-85). Well known for his music lecture/demonstrations at the Carnegie Hall and for his commitment to developing opportunities for young musicians, he was artistic director of two summer orchestral training programmes the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute and the Great Woods Summer Institute in Massachusetts and inaugurated the New World Symphony, America´s first national training orchestra. For the orchestra´s UNICEF tour in 1989 Michael Tilson Thomas composed "From the Diary of Anne Frank", which was narrated by Audrey Hepburn.
In 1988 Michael Tilson Thomas succeeded Claudio Abbado as Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. His concerts with the LSO at the Barbican Centre have been remarkable for their imaginative programme planning. In 1989 Mr. Tilson Thomas started a series of "Discovery" concerts in which he not only conducts but gives spoken introductions to the music performed. A special highlight of the 1990/91 season was his "Childhood" concert series presenting music inspired by the experience of childhood.
Michael Tilson Thomas has been the recipient of numerous Grammy and international awards for his recordings. His wide ranging repertoire includes works by Bach, Beethoven, Mahler and Prokofiev, as well as pioneering work with the music of Charles Ives, Carl Ruggles, Steve Reich, John Cage and George Gershwin. His recent releases of Adam, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Ives have been particularly acclaimed by the international press.
In 1994, Michael Tilson Thomas was awarded the Ditson Conductor's Award from Columbia University for his service to Amercian Music, and in 1995 he was named "Conductor of the Year" by the Musical America International Directory Of The Performing Arts.
