Popular conductor assumes new role

By JOHN FLEMING

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 29, 2000

Thomas Wilkins, the popular resident conductor of the Florida Orchestra, has been named resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Wilkins, now in his seventh season with the Florida Orchestra, assumed his new role in Detroit this week, according to Detroit Symphony spokeswoman Jill Woodward.

"He's going to be here for seven or eight weeks this season and 14 weeks next season," Woodward said.

Wilkins' new post doesn't necessarily mean the conductor is gone from Tampa Bay, said Florida Orchestra executive director Leonard Stone.

"This doesn't play any material role in our ongoing relationship with Tom," Stone said. "He has been in dialogue with Detroit for months, and we knew it was going to happen. We're now in the process of reviewing our relationship with him, and we're still looking forward to having him here."

It's more common than not for symphony conductors to have multiple positions. Florida Orchestra music director Jahja Ling, for example, has four different directorships.

Wilkins, 44, who couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon, has one more season on his three-year contract with the Florida Orchestra, according to Stone. The resident conductor, who lives in St. Petersburg, is also one of nine candidates being considered as the next music director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra.

In the past two years, Wilkins has been a frequent guest conductor with the Detroit Symphony, whose music director is Neeme Jarvi. With a year-round season, it is bigger and better-known than the Florida Orchestra, which has a 36-week season.

"As Tom has grown in importance, his workload here -- which is enormous -- has become an issue we need to address," Stone said.

Wilkins is the orchestra's most visible personality in the community; he leads parks concerts and youth programs, as well as the innovative "On the Fringe" series that explores offbeat repertoire. He was on the podium for a pair of acclaimed concerts of rocker Frank Zappa's symphonic works. He also is artistic director of the Pinellas Youth Symphony.

His next appearance in Detroit will be in February for a youth concert and a special program with jazz saxophonist Yusef Lateef. He is slated to lead his first subscription program with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra next season.

He has several appearances in December with the Florida Orchestra, including a morning coffee concert at Mahaffey Theater Dec. 14 and a "Blue Jean Classics" program Dec. 20 at the Coliseum.

With Ling stepping down as music director at the end of the 2001-02 season, a change in Wilkins' role with the orchestra was "ultimately inevitable," Stone said. "But I feel secure that Tom and the orchestra will find a way to have a relationship in the future."

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