The St. Thomas Orchestra was co-founded by Bernard Tamosaitis and Peter Arike in 2002. Among its ranks today can be counted a broad spectrum of professionals in the arts, sciences, law, finance, medicine, and business. Members in the orchestra range in age from 15 to 85 and are united by a common commitment to the pursuit of musical excellence. Over the years, we have evolved into a uniquely diverse organization of remarkable depth and it is our privilege to perform great symphonic music for our community.
Our Mission
The power of music is to transport us outside of day-to-day concerns and into an unfettered realm of communal epiphany. It is our hope that the orchestra will serve as a bridge to make great symphonic music more accessible to our community.
Music Director
William Eckfeld served as orchestra director at White Plains High School from 1987 until his retirement in 2013. He is a prolific composer whose works have been performed by STO and his own chamber group, Trio D'Été. Skilled at piano and organ, he serves as organist at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New Rochelle, N.Y. He studied composition with Samuel Adler at the Eastman School of Music, with Karl Haidmeier in Austria, and John Corigliano, Jr, in New York. He has served as president of the Greater Westchester Youth Orchestras Association and the Westchester County School Music Association. In the 1970s, Eckfeld played double bass in the Rochester Philharmonic and the Dallas Symphony.