Allen Tinkham Email & Phone Number

Chicago, Il, Us

Chicago, Il, Us

Regarded for reimagining the youth orchestra of the 21st century, Tinkham oversees all artistic programming and faculty at CYSO, where in the last two decades programs and annual budget have tripled under his leadership. Today, CYSO is four full orchestras, three string orchestras, one jazz orchestra, and four steel pan orchestras. In 2019, Tinkham launched Classical Orchestral Repertory Ensemble (CORE), a new CYSO orchestra exclusively programming classical and early romantic core orchestral repertoire. In his first season with CYSO, Tinkham led the CYSO Symphony Orchestra in its Carnegie Hall Presents debut as well as its first live broadcast performance and recording release. Today, WFMT regularly broadcasts CYSO Symphony Orchestra live performances including the critically acclaimed performance of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring in 2018. Tinkham has led the orchestra in eight international tours including six tours to Europe as well as tours to China and South America.Tinkham recently led the CYSO Symphony Orchestra in the critically acclaimed and GRAMMY nominated album released by Cedille Records featuring CYSO alumni Anthony McGill, the New York Philharmonic’s principal clarinetist, and Demarre McGill, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra’s principal flutist, in works for flute, clarinet, and orchestra including the album’s title track Winged Creatures composed by celebrated Black American composer Michael Abels.

Us

This season, Tinkham will lead CCO for the premiere of Jeffery Mumford’s verdant cycles of deepening spring, a violin concerto with orchestra with violinist Christine Wu—with the live performance to be released on Albany Records, as well as the premieres of several works commissioned by the National Endowment of the Arts including Matthew Arrellin’s Overpainted Photographs for Flute and Orchestra with flutist Dalia Chin and Laura Schwendinger’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with pianist Marta Aznavoorian.

Chicago, Il, Us

Tinkham created and developed the conducting and musicianship program including solfege training in the Music Composition for the Screen, the only graduate program in the music school. Tinkham contributed to the growing reputation of the program, where it is currently rated #1 by the Hollywood Reporter, one of two industry journals.

Chicago, Illinois, Us

In demand nationally as a music educator and conductor, from 2015 to 2023, Tinkham has been a guest conductor for the Chicago Youth In Music Festival. From 2006 to 2013, Tinkham was assistant conductor for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s holiday series and has also been a cover conductor for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Reston, Va, Us

Tinkham has led over 20 All-State Festival Orchestras across the U.S. including Illinois High School All-State Orchestra, NAfME All-Eastern Orchestra and NAfME All-Northwest Orchestra in 2015, Texas High School All-State Philharmonic Orchestra in 2013, Massachusetts High School All-State Orchestra in 2010, and Florida High School All-State Orchestra in 2005.

Portland, Oregon, Us

Tinkham began his conducting career as apprentice conductor at the Oregon Symphony Orchestra mentoring under the late conductor and poet James DePreist, and he attributes his conducting and teaching career at CYSO to his mentor. As one of 50 invited candidates, he was appointed music director of the CYSO in 2000 before the end of his apprenticeship—the youngest to win the post in its history.

B.M. Double Major, Performance & Music Theory

M.M., Conducting

Education record