Andrew Thomas
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- for the Australian-born astronaut, see Andy Thomas.
Andrew Thomas was born in 1939 in Ithaca, New York. He studied with Karel Husa at Cornell University, with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, and at The Juilliard School, where he earned a Doctorate in Composition. At Juilliard he studied with Luciano Berio, Elliot Carter, and Otto Luening. He has taught Composition at the Pre-College Division at Juilliard for thirty years. In 1994, The Juilliard School appointed him the Director of the Pre-College Division. In addition to composing, Mr. Thomas performs as a pianist and conductor. He has won many awards including a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts. The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars has cited Dr. Thomas as a Distinguished Teacher.
In January 1997, Vladimir Ashkenazy conducted The Deutsches Symphonie Orchester/Berlin in Mr. Thomas's Marimba Concerto, Loving Mad Tom. Evelyn Glennie was the soloist.
Many chamber organizations and orchestras have performed Mr. Thomas's music in the United States and abroad. His work for solo Marimba, Merlin, has become a standard among percussionists. William Moersch has recorded Merlin on Newport Classics, and Nancy Zeltsman on GM Records. In November 1999, Makoto Nakura performed a new work for solo Marimba, Wind, in Tokyo. In June 2000, 20th Century Unlimited, an ensemble in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will premiere The Heroic Triad - a commissioned work for Marimba, Guitar, and String Orchestra.
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