American Masters “Michael Tilson Thomas: Where Now Is” airs Friday, May 1 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the WXXI and PBS apps
In memory of the renowned conductor & composer Michael Tilson Thomas, who passed away on April 22, 2026, WXXI will encore this American Masters presentation.
American Masters explores the life and career of the Grammy-winning conductor, pianist and composer. A National Medal of Arts recipient and longtime Grammy-winning music director of the San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas helped set the standard that an American orchestra should champion modern music.
Michael Tilson Thomas was considered the great young hope of American classical music, becoming a star overnight and gaining international recognition in 1969 when he stepped in mid-concert for ailing Boston Symphony conductor William Steinberg. The young conductor was well-poised to follow in the footsteps of his orchestral forebears. Instead, the freespirited Tilson Thomas—also a composer and pianist—forged his own path to become an 11-time Grammy-winning artist, National Medal of Arts recipient and Kennedy Center Honoree. Throughout his illustrious career, he has stretched the boundaries of classical music and championed the works of American composers with orchestras in the U.S. and around the world. The 2020–21 concert season marks his first year as Music Director Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, with which he concluded his 25-year tenure as Music Director in June 2020.