Thomas M Sleeper Obituary

Thomas M Sleeper attended Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, TX. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Thomas M Sleeper.

Graduation Year	Class of 1974
Date of Passing	Oct 15, 2022
About	From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Thomas M. Sleeper (February 16, 1956 – October 15, 2022) was an American composer and conductor. His music has been described as 'hauntingly mysterious' and 'richly lyrical'.[1] He was the Director of Orchestral Activities and Conductor of the University of Miami Frost Symphony Orchestra until his retirement in 2018. He was also the director of the Florida Youth Orchestra from 1993 to 2020. Sleeper was a frequent guest conductor all over the world and has performed with ensembles such as the Central Philharmonic of China (where he gave the Chinese premiere of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 in 1992), Argentina's San Juan Symphony Orchestra, and Bulgaria's Ruse State Philharmonic. In addition, he was named the Artistic Advisor of the China-Wuhan Symphony in 1993 where he gave the Chinese premiere of Brahms' 2nd Piano Concerto with soloist Justin Blasdale.[2] Sleeper was an advocate of new music, and has commissioned and conducted the premieres of works of composers including Roberto Sierra, Thomas Ludwig, Henry Brant, Carlos Surinach, and Robert Xavier Rodriguez.[3] He later lived in Miami, Florida. In April 2019, Sleeper was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.[4] He died due to complications from the disease on October 15, 2022, at the age of 66.[5][6]