Van Cliburn Champions: Mozart / Bizet

CONDUCTOR
Thomas Wilson

Thomas Wilson is one of today’s most versatile and dynamic musicians, celebrated as a conductor, composer, orchestrator, and trumpeter. His extensive catalog of works and arrangements has been performed worldwide, creating new opportunities for orchestras and artists alike. His orchestrations have been heard with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony, and dozens of other ensembles.

As Associate Conductor of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Thomas leads nearly half the season across Pops, Classical, and educational concerts, and often joins the trumpet section when not on the podium. He also serves as Music Director of the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, transforming it into one of the nation’s most vibrant chamber ensembles. Under his leadership, the orchestra has earned national recognition for bold, and diverse programming.

Education is at the heart of Thomas’s work. He has conducted the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony, founded the Young Concert Artists Orchestra, and continues to mentor young musicians as a guest conductor, clinician, and faculty member at Colorado College and the Colorado Springs Conservatory.

Equally at home in the concert hall, theater, or opera house, Thomas has collaborated on countless projects in dance, film, and stage. Recent productions such as Blind Injustice and Glory Denied highlight his dedication to making the arts vital and relevant to contemporary audiences.

A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Northern Colorado, where he received the School of Music’s highest honor, Thomas also holds a master’s degree in Conducting from Colorado State University. He has studied with leading mentors including Lawrence Leighton Smith, Gustav Meier, and Michael Tilson Thomas, who described him as “someone to watch.”
Away from the podium, Thomas is a lifelong learner and adventurer. He is a voracious reader, a classic car enthusiast, and happiest exploring Colorado trails with his beloved dog, Ella.

PIANO
Evren Ozel

American pianist Evren Ozel has established himself as a musician of “refined restraint” (Third Coast Review), combining fluent virtuosity with probing, thoughtful interpretations. Having performed extensively in the United States and abroad, Evren is the recipient of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, 2022 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and is currently represented by Concert Artists Guild as an Ambassador Prize Winner of their 2021 Victor Elmaleh Competition.

Since his debut with the Minnesota Orchestra at age 11, Ozel has been a featured soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, and The Orchestra Now at Bard College, with conductors Jahja Ling, Courtney Lewis, and Leon Botstein. In March 2025, his first album of Mozart Concertos with the ORF Radio Symphony of Vienna and conductor Howard
Griffiths was released on Alpha Classics.

Ozel’s 2024-25 season highlights included solo recitals for La Jolla Music Society, Capital Region Classical, and Cal Performances. Previously, he has performed recitals for Harvard Musical Association, Schubert Club, Chopin Society of Minnesota, and The Gilmore. Carrying a vast and varied recital repertoire, his 2023-24 season included a program ranging from Bach and Rameau to Ligeti, as well as a program of Beethoven’s last three Piano Sonatas.

An esteemed chamber musician, Ozel performs alongside artists like David Finckel and Wu Han, Stella Chen, Zlatomir Fung, Paul Huang, and Peter Wiley. He spent four summers at the
Marlboro Festival, and is currently a 2024-27 Bowers Program Artist for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. His 2024-25 season included a tour with Musicians from Marlboro,
as well as CMS concerts at Alice Tully Hall.

Ozel resides in Boston, where he is currently a candidate in New England Conservatory’s prestigious and highly-exclusive Artist Diploma program, under the tutelage of Wha Kyung
Byun. Other important mentors include Jonathan Biss, Imogen Cooper, Richard Goode, Andras Schiff, and Mitsuko Uchida.