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The following is the current Biography:
Andrew Thomas
Composer, Pianist, Conductor, Educator
Director: The Pre-College
Division, The Juilliard School
Andrew Thomas, born October 8, 1939, in Ithaca, NY, He studied with Karel Husa at Cornell
University, with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, and earned his M.M. and D.M.A. degrees in Composition at The Juilliard School.
At Juilliard he studied with Luciano Berio, Elliot Carter, and Otto Luening. He teaches and was the chairman of the
Composition Department at the Pre-College Division at Juilliard since 1969. In 1994, The Juilliard School appointed him the
Director of the Pre-College Division. In addition to composing, Dr. Thomas performs as a pianist, conductor, is a guest
professor throughout the world. His many awards including a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts and
Distinguished Teacher from The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. The recent CD from Juilliard's The American
Brass Quintet includes Dr. Thomas "Consonanze Stravaganti."
In January 1997, Vladimir Ashkenazy conducted The Deutsches
Symphonie Orchester/Berlin in Dr. Thomas's Marimba Concerto, "Loving Mad Tom." Evelyn Glennie was the soloist.
"... his arsenal of romantic ghost music from Weber to Berlioz to Liszt is recognized here, and sound-consciously conveyed
into the modern idiom." - Jürgen Otten, Der Tagespiel.
Many chamber organizations and orchestras have performed Dr.
Thomas's music in the United States and abroad. His work for solo Marimba, 'Merlin,' has become a standard among percussionists.
Currently, a number of recordings of this work are available, including ones by William Moersch on Newport Classics, and Nancy
Zeltsman on GM Records. Other works include: "Wind" for solo Marimba, premiered by Makoto Nakura, '"The Heroic Triad" a commission
from Twentieth Century Unlimited for Guitar, Percussion, and String Orchestra. On January 4, 2001, Renée Fleming sang Mr.
Thomas's song "I Just Found Another New Voice Teacher" with the Orpheus Strings on 'Live From Lincoln Center'. Ms. Fleming
commissioned and performed a new work from Dr. Thomas in April, 2003. He accompanied her on the piano at Alice Tully Hall.
Though
he has taught in other parts of the world, Dr. Thomas has become a regular guest of the People's Rrpublic of China. In March
2000, as a guest of the Chinese Government, Dr. Thomas performed his composition for solo piano, "Music at Twilight", in Hong
Kong and Guangzhou. While in China, he was the head western judge of a panel of pianists from all over the world judging
the 2000 Chinese Works Piano Competition.
In December 2001, Dr. Thomas went to Nanning, China to conduct his "Three
Scenes from the Summer Palace'" and other works, to perform as a pianist and to teach master classes in composition. Dr. Thomas
is an Advisor of Guangxi Arts College and a guest conductor of the Guangxi Arts College Youth Orchestra. This has become
a yearly event. He returned to Nanning in October 2002 for further conducting and as the main Western speaker at a conference
of middle school administrators and government officials from all parts of China. He is currently working on composing a new
cross cultural ballet for the Chinese people with an original story written by his partner Howard Kessler.
Since 2003
Dr. Thomas has lectured, taught, and performed in Korea at a music festival that he now co-directs. This festival, The Seoul
Music Festival & Academy brings together Western and Korean teachers to perform and to teach more advanced String and
Piano students. It also includes the family’s of the students on a final festival day of student performances including
a newly established string orchestra conducted by Dr. Thomas.
In an effort to upgrade music education throughout China,
Dr. Thomas began to bring together the some music academies to advance all the students’ technical and artistic abilities
in Western as well as Eastern music. In April 2004 he conducted the Shanghai conservatory youth orchestra
and the Nanning Symphony in a three concerto evening with student soloists from Shanghai, Nanning and, Juilliard.
The
American Brass Quintet has recorded Dr. Thomas's 'Consonanza Stravagaanti' on their American Visions album and performed it
at Lincoln Center in the Fall of 2003. Also at Lincoln Center, January 2004 he conducted the premier of "A Samba,"
his work for two solo flutes, two flute choirs, and chamber orchestra. "Three Transformations" for duo marimba was recorded
by Nancy Zeltsman and Jack Van Geem and is available on their "Pedro and Olga Learn to Dance" CD. “Loving Mad Tom.”
The marimba concerto and Dr. Thomas’s concerto for guitar, percussion, and string orchestra “The Heroic
Triad” will be recorded in Poland in February 2006 under the Opus One label with the composer conducting.
On October
9, 2004 Dr. Thomas had a piano recital in the Juilliard Theater at the Juilliard School celebrating his 65th birthday, 35
years teaching at the Juilliard School and ten years as its Pre-College director. He conducted two programs for the Prime
Symphony Orchestra in Seoul, Korea in August and then another program for the Korean Symphony Orchestra in November of 2005
including his concerto for marimba and orchestra,
Recently, Andy Thomas conducted the premier of “Crane by the River
Li” for orchestra of traditional Chinese instruments in Nanning China. April 2005, Simon Boyar premiered "Valse Triste,"
a marimba work which he commissioned from Dr. Thomas. This new solo piece is evidence that music for the marimba is evolving
and that Thomas' marimba music pieces are its milestones.
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