Michael Tilson Thomas Celebrated at Kennedy Center Honors in Tribute Performance by Alumni of New World Symphony

This past Sunday, newly awarded Kennedy Center Honoree Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) was celebrated in a special tribute presentation at the 42nd annual Kennedy Center Honors Gala. The tribute included a performance by more than 40 alumni of the New World Symphony, America's Orchestral Academy (NWS), which MTT co-founded 32 years ago as a training ground for the next generation of classical musicians. Conducted by NWS alumnus and Louisville Orchestra Music Director Teddy Abrams, the alumni musicians paid tribute to MTT's wide-ranging artistry, performing a program that celebrated his acclaimed interpretations of modern masters, his advocacy for American music, and his own work as a composer. Joining the orchestra in performance were MTT's longtime friends and collaborators Audra McDonald and Yuja Wang, as well as Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, who recently collaborated with MTT as part of Metallica and San Francisco Symphony's S&M2 concert. Spoken tributes were also given by Mr. Ulrich and actress Debra Winger.

The gala will be televised on CBS on Sunday, December 15, at 8:00 p.m. ET. In Miami Beach-to celebrate the occasion with the local community-NWS and CBS4 Miami will host a free viewing party in SoundScape Park, where the telecast will be projected onto the 7,000-square-foot eastern façade of the New World Center as an NWS WALLCAST® event. Interludes throughout the viewing party will include brief on-site performances by NWS Fellows and interviews with CBS4 Entertainment Reporter Lisa Petrillo. For more information, visit nws.edu.

Among the alumni who gathered at the Kennedy Center to honor MTT were graduates from every era of the New World Symphony's three-decade history, including musicians from the very first class of NWS Fellows in 1988. Today, alumni of the New World Symphony can be found in nearly every major American orchestra and opera house, and those who performed at the Kennedy Center Honors Gala include members of the New York Philharmonic; the Cleveland, Louisville, Minnesota, and Sarasota orchestras; the Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Fort Worth, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, National, Oregon, Puerto Rico, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Louis, Utah, and Winnipeg symphonies; and the Kennedy Center, Metropolitan, San Francisco, and Santa Fe opera orchestras. Participating alumni also include musicians who have gone on to faculty or administrative roles at Carnegie Hall, Louisville Orchestra, New World Symphony, and Northwestern University. The complete list of participants is included below.

New World Symphony Alumni Orchestra,
2019 Kennedy Center Honors Gala

VIOLIN

Raushan Akhmedyarova, '01
San Francisco Symphony

Katherine Bormann, '10
The Cleveland Orchestra

Alex Gonzalez, '19
Freelance

Jason Horowitz, '02
Boston Symphony Orchestra

Daniel Jordan, '98
Sarasota Orchestra

SunJoo Park, '15
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Philip Payton, '02
Freelance, New York

Chelsea Sharpe, current
New World Symphony

Sarah Silver Manzke, '14
San Antonio Symphony

Ko Sugiyama, '12
The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra

Isabel Trautwein, '95
The Cleveland Orchestra

Shalini Vijayan, '01
Lyris Quartet

VIOLA

Andrew François, '18
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Allyson Goodman, '14
The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra

Abhijit Sengupta, '00
Carnegie Hall

Madeline Sharp, '16
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

CELLO

Grace An, '15
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

Thomas Carpenter, '17
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Kari Docter, '98
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

Blake-Anthony Johnson, '19
Louisville Orchestra (administrative)

BASS

Kristen Bruya, '04
Minnesota Orchestra

Jeffrey Weisner, '93
National Symphony Orchestra

FLUTE

Matthew Roitstein, '13
Houston Symphony

Ebonee Thomas, '08
Santa Fe Opera Orchestra

OBOE

Eugene Izotov, '94
San Francisco Symphony

Ryan Roberts, '19
New York Philharmonic

CLARINET

Tad Calcara, '99
Utah Symphony

Raymond Santos, '08
Kansas City Symphony

BASSOON

Kathryn Brooks, '13
Winnipeg Symphony

Francisco Joubert Bernard, '19
Louisville Orchestra

HORN

Susanna Drake Gaunt, '95
Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Alberto Suarez, '06
Kansas City Symphony

TRUMPET

Oscar Garcia-Montoya, '06
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Billy Hunter, '03
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

TROMBONE

Donna Parkes, '01
Louisville Orchestra

Miguel Rivera, '89
Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra

BASS TROMBONE

Christopher Davis, '09
Northwestern University

PERCUSSION

Sergio Carreno, '11
Oregon Symphony

Robert Klieger, '11
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Patricia Niemi, '92
San Francisco Opera

PIANO

Michael Linville, '97
New World Symphony (faculty)

CONDUCTOR

Teddy Abrams, '11
Louisville Orchestra

Michael Tilson Thomas is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, and Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra. In addition to conducting the world's leading orchestras, MTT is also noted for his work as a composer and a producer of multimedia projects that are dedicated to music education and the reimagination of the concert experience. He has won eleven Grammys for his recordings, is the recipient of the National Medal of Arts, and is a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France.

The New World Symphony, America's Orchestral Academy, prepares graduates of music programs for leadership roles in professional orchestras and ensembles. In the 30 years since its co-founding by Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas and Lin and Ted Arison, NWS has helped launch the careers of more than 1,100 alumni worldwide. A laboratory for the way music is taught, presented and experienced, the New World Symphony consists of 87 young musicians who are granted fellowships lasting up to three years. The fellowship program offers in-depth exposure to traditional and modern repertoire, professional development training and personalized experiences working with leading guest conductors, soloists and visiting faculty. Relationships with these artists are extended through NWS's extensive distance learning via the internet. NWS Fellows take advantage of the innovative performance facilities and state-of-the art practice and ensemble rooms of the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center, the campus of the New World Symphony.

Photo credits: Scott Suchman / The Kennedy Center (photo of MTT) and Courtesy of New World Symphony (photo of NWS alumni)