Pikes Peak Honor Orchestra Staff
Amanda Hessel
PPHO
High School Coordinator
Webmaster
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Orchestra Director at
William J Palmer High School
Colorado Springs School District 11
Elisabeth Canuel
PPHO
Middle School Coordinator
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Orchestra Director at
Sabin Middle School
Colorado Springs School District 11
Laurilea McDaniel
Fine Arts Ccoordinator at
Colorado Springs School District 11
2024 High School Clinician
Thomas Wilson
Conductor, composer and trumpeter Thomas Wilson is one of the most active and
diversified musicians today.
Thomas has an extensive catalog of compositions and arrangements that have been
performed around the world. From modern composition to Rock and Jazz arrangements, his
creativity unlocks new performance opportunities for orchestras and artists and has made him an in-demand orchestrator and arranger for film, television, and leading solo artists.
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As Associate Conductor of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Thomas conducts nearly half the season in Pops, Classical and educational concerts, often integrating his arrangements and
compositions to create new and innovative programs. When not leading the orchestra, he plays in the Philharmonic’s trumpet section.
As Music Director of the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, Thomas took a near-defunct orchestra and made it one of the most vibrant chamber orchestras in the country, with an expansive season of diverse programming that has won grants and accolades from leading foundations, including the National Endowment for the Arts. Under his leadership, the Chamber Orchestra weathered the pandemic extremely well, delivering all promised performances in high quality video and audio plus two special projects—an online, interactive Carnival of the Animals and a broadcast for Rocky Mountain PBS—all while balancing the budget and without cutting pay or laying off a single
musician or staff member.
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Thomas is a strong advocate for music education. Early in his career, he conducted for the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony program and founded the Young Concert Artists orchestra.
Today, he is an active guest conductor and clinician for school and honor orchestras, including repeat engagements with the Colorado All-State Orchestra. This season, he will lead the Combined League Honor Orchestra of Northern Colorado. He also teaches at Colorado College and Colorado Springs
Conservatory. His dedication to education extends to general audiences as well, with a series of educational concerts focusing on individual works, weaving cutting-edge research and visuals prior to a performance of the complete work. Concerts on Mozart’s Requiem and Copland’s Appalachian Spring
have won extensive acclaim.
An advocate of collaboration, blending genres and mediums to create new possibilities and strengthen arts organizations, Thomas has led countless projects in dance, opera, theater, film, and virtually every genre of music. His recent performances of the opera Blind Injustice with Opera Theatre of the Rockies illustrate his dedication to making the arts relevant to our time.
Thomas holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Northern Colorado, where he graduated summa cum laude and received the School of Music’s highest honor—the Departmental Scholar Award. He has a master’s degree in Conducting from Colorado State University, and has supplemented his education by studying with leading conducting mentors like Lawrence Leighton Smith, Gustav Meier and Michael Tilson Thomas, who called him “someone to watch.”
In his free time, Thomas finds happiness in friends, fitness and learning. He is a voracious reader, a chess player, and is always happiest on Colorado trails with his adorable dog, Maynard.
2024 Middle School Clinician
Tom Nugent
Tom Nugent is a musician, educator, conductor, and clinician from Colorado whose musical career began with playing violin at the age of 5. He grew up studying Suzuki, and continued studies as he received his Bachelors in Music Education from The University of Northern Colorado with a Spanish Teaching Endorsement in 2010,
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followed by a Masters in Music Education from The University of Northern Colorado in 2017. Tom has studied with and participated in masterclasses with incredible teachers, including Richard Fuchs, Russell Guyver, Juliet White-Smith, Allison Sherman, Heroutune Bedelian, and Peter Marsh.
Tom maintains an active and diverse performance schedule, though highlights have included performances with the UNC Chamber and Symphony Orchestras in Spain, Greeley Chorale, Girdwood Bluegrass Festival in Alaska, Picker’s Retreat Festival in Alaska, Rocky Mountain Country Music Awards, National Western Stock Show, and many more. Tom has performed with numerous quartets and country artists, and has been fortunate to share the stage with bluegrass greats Frank Solivan, Vince Herman, and Barefoot Bluegrass.
Tom currently serves as the Orchestra Director and Performing Arts Department Chair at Greeley West High School, a program that has grown to nearly 200 string musicians performing in traditional orchestras, fiddle groups, chamber ensembles, and guitar ensembles. The Spartan Strings Chamber Orchestra has been invited to perform at the University of Colorado Orchestra Invitational, received numerous Superior Ratings, and was named “Outstanding 5A String Orchestra” at the Colorado West Music Invitational in 2016 and “5A Best in Class” at the 2019 Winter Park Music Festival. Tom has had numerous students selected to regional and All-State honor groups during his time as Orchestra Director. He is currently serving as the Colorado All State Orchestra Chair. He has been a guest teacher and performer at the Alaska City Folk Arts Camp, Poudre School District Summer Orchestra Camp, Proyecto Luis De Lion (Antigua, Guatemala), and the String Quartet Program of Northern Colorado, Poudre School District Honor Orchestra, and Thompson School District Honor Orchestra. Tom has served on the adjunct faculty at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, teaching violin and string methods.
Tom resides in Greeley, CO with his wife, Megan, son, David, and daughter, Adalynn. Tom and Megan have a private music studio that they run from home, and are both actively involved with numerous local music organizations.