negaunee music institute at the cso

Tenth Anniversary Season of the Civic Fellowship Program

For more than a century, young musicians have received expert training through the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, which offers performance opportunities with top-tier conductors and mentorship from musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Currently in its tenth anniversary season, the Civic Fellowship program provides additional professional development for a select group of Civic Orchestra members. The mission of the Fellowship is to prepare participants for multifaceted careers in music through four areas of focus: concert curation, music education, social justice, and project management.

Read how three current and former Civic Fellows respond to the question, How has being a Civic Orchestra Fellow helped you professionally and personally? To read the complete interviews, visit cso.org/experience.

Marian Mayuga Violin, current Civic Fellow

While being a member and Fellow of the Civic Orchestra is an incredible honor, it also entails a huge amount of responsibility, both as a musician and a member of the community. As a values-based program, the Civic Fellowship constantly urges us to think about the purpose of our music and whose lives we are impacting. This is the kind of approach I would like to adapt for my future endeavors.

Zachary Good Clarinet, Civic Fellow alum

My time as a Fellow and the many education and community engagement projects I undertook showed me how my musicianship could inspire positive change in different contexts and that I could be more than just a clarinetist. The skills I gained through Civic, like developing a confident stage presence and curating programs, set me up for a successful career. During my time as a Fellow, Eighth Blackbird—an American contemporary music sextet based in Chicago—were my idols. I am now living my dream as a member of the ensemble!

Maria Arrua Violin, Civic Fellow alum

Playing in the Civic Orchestra alongside amazing young musicians continuously motivated me to work hard and get better. . . . During my time in the Fellowship, I was placed to teach group classes at the People’s Music School. I learned to love teaching and connecting with students. . . . I now have my own private violin studio and also teach as an adjunct professor at Illinois Wesleyan University.

Thomas Wilkins Conductor

Devoted to promoting a life-long enthusiasm for music, Thomas Wilkins brings energy and commitment to audiences of all ages. Wilkins is principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra; the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s artistic advisor, Education and Community Engagement; principal guest conductor of the Virginia Symphony; and holder of Indiana University’s Henry A. Upper Chair of Orchestral Conducting, established by the late Barbara and David Jacobs as a part of its Matching the Promise Campaign. He completed his long tenure as music director of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra at the close of the 2020–21 season. Other past positions include resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Florida Orchestra (Tampa Bay) and associate conductor of the Richmond (VA) Symphony. He also has served on the music faculties of North Park University in Chicago, the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

Following his first season with the Boston Symphony, the Boston Globe named him among its 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, and in 2018 the Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society, conferred by Boston’s Longy School of Music of Bard College. In 2019 the Virginia Symphony in Norfolk honored Wilkins with its Dreamer Award; in 2022 the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award for Music, the Boston Conservatory awarded him an honorary doctorate, and he received the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton Award.

During his career, Wilkins has led orchestras throughout the United States, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington (D.C.). In addition, he has guest conducted, among others, the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras; the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Baltimore, San Diego, Seattle, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Utah; the Buffalo and Rochester philharmonic orchestras; and the Grant Park Music Festival.

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 in Omaha, Nebraska; and the Center Against Spouse Abuse in Tampa Bay and the Museum of Fine Arts and the Academy Preparatory Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. He currently serves as chairman of the board for the Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund and as national ambassador for the nonprofit World Pediatric Project headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, which provides children throughout Central America and the Caribbean with critical surgical and diagnostic care.

A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Thomas Wilkins is a graduate of the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, Virginia, 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.

Civic Orchestra of Chicago

Founded in 1919 by Frederick Stock, second music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), the Civic Orchestra of Chicago prepares emerging professional musicians for lives in music. Civic members participate in rigorous orchestral training, September through June each season, with the Robert Kohl and Clark Pellett Principal Conductor Ken-David Masur, musicians of the CSO, and some of today’s most luminary conductors including the CSO’s Zell Music Director Riccardo Muti.

The importance of the Civic Orchestra’s role in Greater Chicago is underscored by its commitment to present concerts of the highest quality at no charge to the public. In addition to the critically acclaimed live concerts at Symphony Center, Civic Orchestra performances can be heard locally on WFMT (98.7 FM).

Civic musicians also expand their creative, professional, and artistic boundaries and reach diverse audiences through educational performances at Chicago Public Schools and a series of chamber concerts at various locations throughout the city, including Chicago Park District field houses and the National Museum of Mexican Art.

To further expand its musician training, the Civic Orchestra launched the Civic Fellowship program in the 2013–14 season. Each year ten to fifteen Civic members are designated as Civic Fellows and participate in intensive leadership training that is designed to build and diversify their creative and professional skills.

From 2010 to 2019, Yo-Yo Ma was a leading mentor to Civic musicians and staff in his role as CSO Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, and the programs and initiatives he established are integral to the Civic Orchestra curriculum today. Civic Orchestra musicians develop as exceptional orchestral players and engaged artists, cultivating their ability to succeed in the rapidly evolving world of music in the twenty-first century.

The Civic Orchestra’s long history of presenting full orchestra performances free to the public includes annual concerts at the South Shore Cultural Center (in partnership with the South Shore Advisory Council) as well as numerous Chicago Public Schools. The Civic Orchestra is a signature program of the Negaunee Music Institute at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which offers a wide range of education and community programs that engage more than 200,000 people of diverse ages, incomes, and backgrounds each year, in Chicago and around the world.

For more on the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and its Principal Conductor Ken-David Masur, please visit cso.org/civic.