Conductor Emerita

Laura Mulligan Thomas served as the director of the Charlottesville High School Orchestra from 1982-2022. She came to CHS after graduating with honors from James Madison University and began immediately to develop and nourish the orchestra program of the eight students she inherited. Today an award-winning group of 100, a number of CHSO graduates are professional musicians who perform with orchestras and pop, rock, and country artists in the U.S. and Europe. Still other alumni have followed in Ms. Thomas’s footsteps and pursued careers in music education.

Currently President of the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association, Ms. Thomas also conducts the Youth Symphony of the Youth Orchestras of Central Virginia.  She plays piano and cello with several Charlottesville chamber ensembles, and whenever possible performs with her daughter as Maestra Strings, and with three siblings as the Mulligan String Quartet. For more about Ms. Thomas, visit lauramulliganthomas.com.