In 1987, MTT co-founded the New World Symphony in Miami Beach with Ted and Lin Arison. The New World Symphony is a postgraduate orchestral academy dedicated to preparing young musicians of diverse backgrounds for leadership roles in classical music. It has long been at the forefront of developments in the arts and in education.
As Artistic Director Laureate, MTT works with NWS Fellows to further their performance abilities and to expand their understanding of professional responsibilities in our ever-changing musical environment. Of the more than 1,300 alumni of the New World Symphony, 90% maintain careers in music, often as musicians or administrators in major orchestras. Since 2011, the campus of the New World Symphony has been the technologically advanced, Frank Gehry-designed New World Center.
MTT with his NWS co-founders Ted and Lin Arison in 1987
A laboratory for the way music is taught, presented and experienced, the New World Symphony grants young musicians 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 remote learning.
In addition to developing the careers of young musicians, New World Symphony endeavors to develop new audiences for the performing arts in Miami. Innovative performance formats cultivate new audiences and complement the skills and qualifications required of 21st-century musicians. Presenting new works is also a part of NWS’s mission, introducing audiences to creations and collaborations that span music, literature, drama and visual art.
With community and accessibility in mind, WALLCAST® concerts were developed to allow listeners to enjoy performances outside for free on the center’s 7,000-square-foot projection wall.
The New World Symphony has performed in leading venues around the world, ranging from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Argentina’s Teatro Colón; London’s Barbican Centre to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.
In 1990, MTT and the NWS were presented in a series of benefit concerts for UNICEF in the U.S. featuring Audrey Hepburn as narrator of From the Diary of Anne Frank, composed by MTT and commissioned by UNICEF.
In 2011, after operating 23 years at Miami Beach’s Lincoln Theatre and in spaces across the city, the New World Symphony moved into the New World Center, a state-of the art facility for education and performance designed by Gehry Partners.
Designing the New World Center
Photo: Claudia Uribe
Featured Projects
From the Diary of Anne Frank (1990)
In 1990, MTT and the NWS were presented in a series of benefit concerts for UNICEF in the U.S. featuring Audrey Hepburn as narrator of From the Diary of Anne Frank, composed by MTT and commissioned by UNICEF.
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Making the Right Choices
In celebration of John Cage’s 100th birthday, Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony presented a weeklong festival of Cage’s music in February 2013.
Watch the performances
Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind (2019)
MTT’s song cycle Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind, a setting of Carl Sandburg’s poem, was premiered in 2016 by the New World Symphony, with Measha Brueggergosman as soloist.
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Viola Visions
Viola Visions was a five-day celebration of the viola featuring the instrument’s most prodigious artists in concerts, master classes and seminars that took place in October 2019. Renowned performers and educators Roberto Díaz, Kim Kashkashian, Matthew Lipman, Cynthia Phelps, Nadia Sirota, Jonathan Vinocour and Tabea Zimmermann joined NWS Fellows and alumni in performances of viola-centric works led by MTT. Viola enthusiasts around the world experienced all Viola Visions activities thanks to NWS’s media partners for the festival: The Violin Channel and medici.tv.
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