MTT's New World Symphony: A Thriving Next Stop for SFCM Grads
Michael Tilson Thomas founded the New World Symphony in 1988 as an "orchestral academy" for young musicians.
The New World Center in Miami (Credit: Claudia Uribe).
Since its founding in 1988 with Ted and Lin Arison, Michael Tilson Thomas' New World Symphony (NWS) has become one of the premiere ensembles for young musicians, so naturally, it's become a common destination for SFCM grads.
Lyric Rivera.
Recent alumni who have joined NWS as fellows include Will Morgan ('26, percussion), Oliver Moore ('26, piano), Lyric Rivera ('25, flute), Archer Brown ('24, violin), Christopher Jasiewicz ('24, violin), and Dominique Bégin ('21,violin).
When MTT passed away in April 2026, New World Symphony President and CEO Howard Herring called him "a master of wrestling a dream into reality," adding, "One of MTT's most profound ideas was the New World Symphony, where the imagined future meets the hard work, every day. After 38 years, it is clear that MTT's concept of an orchestral academy is here to stay."
NWS is a distinctly Floridian creation: Performing in South Beach, Miami, its principal funder was Ted Arison, who founded Carnival Cruise Line. Arison had been a pianist in his youth and had already founded the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, which awards grants to high school seniors. Arison met MTT through a mutual acquaintance, and the pair commiserated over the fact that Miami had no symphony orchestra of its own.
Bonding over the idea of a training ground for young musicians that could also serve as a full-fledged performing group, MTT assembled a list of requirements for such an institution. But he told Arison, "to do all of that you'd have to be like the czar of Russia," at which point MTT said Arison "just kind of winked and said, 'I'm close.'"
Michael Tilson Thomas with SFCM graduate Dominique Bégin.
Describing NWS as "a launching pad for people's lives," MTT told The New York Times in 2007, "My personal mission is to have [the fellows] hold onto 'What does this mean?' I'm trying to give the larger message of what music is all about."
A partial list of faculty at SFCM who have completed an NWS fellowship includes Woodwinds Chair Jerome Simas, who holds the bass clarinet chair in the San Francisco Symphony (SFS), Percussion Chair Jacob Nissly (Principal Percussion with SFS), Brass Chair Adam Luftman (Principal Trumpet with both the San Francisco Opera and Ballet Orchestras), Patti Niemi (Acting Principal Percussion, San Francisco Opera Orchestra), and Chen Zhao (Second Violin, SFS).
SFCM Music Director Edwin Outwater, who was mentored by MTT, speaks highly of NWS. "I've had the pleasure of visiting NWS regularly as a guest conductor for many years now. It's a place where musicians can further refine their playing, be inspired by one another, and explore what the future of orchestral music might look like. MTT and Frank Gehry created a truly amazing space in the New World Center, and whenever I'm there, I'm amazed by what that building can do, and how much it feeds my own creativity and imagination."
"I'm thrilled when SFCM alums get to experience this as well," he continued, "and I'm especially excited that there is such a strong SFCM presence at New World Symphony these days."