Wagon Wheel’s musical supervisor, Thomas Stirling, has died.
Stirling was 45, according to Wagler Funeral Home, of Bloomfield, Iowa, which is in charge of arrangements.
According to the funeral home, Stirling died Sunday at his home in Warsaw.
Stirling, an accomplished string and keyboard musician and composer, was also the musical director and conductor of the Symphony of the Lakes orchestra.
Stirling had been with Wagon Wheel since 2006 and had been full-time in the musical position since 2013.
According to a news release from Wagon Wheel, Stirling had just completed a successful run of “Elf, the Musical,” which played to thousands of area school field trip and adult audiences over the pre-Christmas season.
He also was looking forward to opening his own teaching studio after the first of the year and the assumption of a local church organist position, the news release said.
“Words cannot express how deep this loss is,” said Scott Michaels, artistic director, who worked closely with Stirling in the many musical productions that are part of each Wagon Wheel season.
Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts board chair Deb Bishop said, “We are heartbroken to lose this talented, loyal, brilliant musician. Tom was loved by all who sang or played for him, and his impact on generations of younger performers will be one of his best legacies.”
Jay Michaels, executive director of Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts, said a loss like this is felt at the deepest level.
“Not only are we grieving his loss from our organization, but our hearts go out to his family members for their deep loss at this holiday time of year,” he said.
As of this morning, arrangements had not been finalized.
