Michael Tilson Thomas steps down from New World Symphony due to illness

American conductor, pianist and composer, Michael Tilson Thomas has announced he will step down from his role as artistic director of the New World Symphony (NWS) following a diagnosis of Glioblastoma Multiforme, a type of brain cancer.

After stepping down, Tilson Thomas will retain creative influence within the Florida-beach orchestral academy in the role of artistic director laureate, working on projects with the NWS Fellows and Alumni.

In a statement released on his website last week (2 March), Thomas expressed his happiness at his recent return to performing before writing: ‘I now see that it is time for me to consider what level of work and responsibilities I can sustain in the future.’ Tilson Thomas has received medical treatment and writes that ‘currently the cancer is in check.’ However, he warns that recurrence is common with this type of cancer.

Born in 1944, Tilson Thomas gained international recognition at the age of 24 when he replaced William Steinberg mid-concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra when Steinberg was too unwell to continue.

He was music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1971 to 1979, and principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra from 1981 to 1985. Following this, Tilson Thomas co-founded the NWS in Miami in 1987 with the aim of preparing music graduates for leadership roles in professional orchestras.

Tilson Thomas was principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1988 to 1995, before becoming conductor laureate in 2016. He has not yet expressed an intention to give up this or his additional roles as music director laureate of the San Francisco Symphony or president of the Tomashefsky Project which works to preserve the memory of his grandparents' theatrical careers.

Across his career, Tilson Thomas has been nominated for 39 Grammy awards, winning 12. He was awarded the American National Medal of Arts in 2009 and the Kennedy Center Honor a decade later.

Although he is retiring from the NWS Tilson Thomas said he will ‘continue to compose, to write’ and is ‘planning more time to wonder, wander, cook, and spend time with loved ones’.

You can find out more about Michael Tilson Thomas here.

You can find out more about the New World Symphony here.