Ronald Thomas (born 1954) is an American

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

known for his work as a soloist and chamber musician. Thomas has made guest appearances with some of the world's finest orchestras including the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

, the

Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is the second-oldest professional symphony orc ...

, the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

, the

Seattle Symphony Orchestra The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera. History Beginnings The orchestra ...

, the

Hong Kong Philharmonic The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (Cantonese: 香港管弦樂團), commonly abbreviated as HKPO or HKPhil (Cantonese: 港樂), is the largest symphony orchestra in Hong Kong. First established in 1947 as an amateur orchestra under the name Si ...

, the

Handel and Haydn Society The Handel and Haydn Society is an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Known colloquially as 'H+H', the organization has been in continual performance since its founding in 1815, the longest-serving suc ...

, the

Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston is a musician-led American orchestra based in Newton, Massachusetts. It is one of only four co-operative orchestras in the US. It had a long-time association with composer and conductor Gunther Schuller, with I ...

of Boston, and the Blossom Festival Orchestra among others. He has played recitals in nearly every state including performances in the cities of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Thomas has also performed throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Biography

Thomas first studied cello with

Mary Canberg Mary Canberg (1918 – 15 June 2004) was an American violinist, conductor, and music educator. Canberg was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She studied with Michael Press and Hans Letz at the Juilliard School in New York City and made her profe ...

before attending the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

and the

Curtis Institute The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

where his principal teachers were Lorne Munroe and

David Soyer David Soyer (February 24, 1923February 25, 2010) was an American cellist. He was born in Philadelphia and began playing the piano at the age of nine. At 11, he started the cello. One of his first teachers was Diran Alexanian. Later on he studi ...

. He first drew recognition when he won the

Young Concert Artists International Auditions Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting the careers of talented young classical musicians from all over the world. The competition, founded in 1961, allows artists from all over ...

in 1974 at the age of nineteen. Since then he has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras both in the United States and internationally. Ronald Thomas is currently the Principal Cellist of the St. Paul Chamber orchestra, a position he has held since 2005. Thomas is the former co-founder and artistic director of the

Boston Chamber Music Society The Boston Chamber Music Society (BCMS) is an American organization of musicians located in Boston, Massachusetts and dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music. The organization performs works from the Baroque era to the present da ...

, where he spent 26 years performing and directing until 2009. He has also appeared with the

Seattle Chamber Music Society The Seattle Chamber Music Society (SCMS) is an American organization of musicians located in Seattle, Washington that is dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music. Established in 1982, the presenting organization is currently in i ...

and the

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) is an American organization dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music in New York City. It is the largest organization of its kind in the country for chamber music. CMS's home is ...

both at

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...

and on tour. Other chamber music appearances include the La Musica,

Music@Menlo Music@Menlo is an annual summer chamber music festival and institute in Atherton, California. The festival was founded in 2003 by cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han. American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American compa ...

Sarasota Music Festival Sarasota Music Festival is an American classical music festival held annually during the month of June in Sarasota, Florida, under the sponsorship of the Sarasota Orchestra. The festival was founded in 1965 by conductor Paul Wolfe, who remained dire ...

Music from Angel Fire Music from Angel Fire, (MFAF) is the first chamber music festival in New Mexico designed to serve the artistic needs of rural northern New Mexico communities. This touring summer chamber music festival currently produces 15 outstanding concerts in ...

Music in the Mountains Music in the Mountains (MiTM) is an annual summer classical music festival located in Durango, with additional performances in other regional towns. Performances are held from early July through early August and feature performances by both pro ...

, Portland Chamber Music Festival,

Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival is a six-week-long summer Festival of chamber music held annually in July and August and located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was founded in 1972 and presented its first series of concerts in 1973. Well-known mu ...

, Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival,

Festival dei Due Mondi The ''Festival dei Due Mondi'' (Festival of the Two Worlds) is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958. It features a vast array of conce ...

, Blossom Music Festival,

Chamber Music Northwest Chamber Music Northwest (CMNW) is an American non-profit organization in Portland, Oregon that is dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music. The organization's main presentation is its annual five-week Summer Festival, that occurs ...

, the

Norfolk Chamber Music Festival The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, hosted in Norfolk, Connecticut, is believed to be the oldest active summer music festival in North America. Set among the Litchfield Hills of the lower Berkshires, the Festival traces its roots to the Battell f ...

, the Dubrovnik Festival,

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

, Amsterdam Festival, and others.Carter Festival Invited Scholars
/ref> Thomas is the artistic director of Chestnut Hill Concerts of Madison, CT and was an original member of the Players in Residence committee and the Board of Overseers at

Bargemusic Bargemusic, formally known as ''Bargemusic, Ltd.'' is a classical music venue and cultural icon in Brooklyn. Founded in 1977, it is housed on a converted coffee barge moored at Fulton Ferry Landing on the East River near the Brooklyn Bridge. His ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Thomas is also a former member of

Boston Musica Viva Boston Musica Viva is a Boston, Massachusetts-based music ensemble founded by its Music Director, Richard Pittman, in 1969 and dedicated to contemporary music. Composers and compositions In its 44-year history, Boston Musica Viva has performed m ...

and the

Aeolian Chamber Players The Aeolian Chamber Players is an American musical ensemble that is dedicated to the performance of chamber music. Founded in 1961 by violinist Lewis Kaplan, the group has been the resident ensemble at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine since 1964 ...

. While a member of these two groups, Thomas premiered countless new works, including those by

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...

Michael Colgrass Michael Charles Colgrass (April 22, 1932 – July 2, 2019) was an American-born Canada-based musician, composer, and educator. Life and career Colgrass was born in Brookfield, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His musical career began in Chicag ...

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Ellen Taaffe Zwilich ( ; born April 30, 1939) is an American composer, the first female composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Her early works are marked by atonal exploration, but by the late 1980s, she had shifted to a postmodernist, ne ...

Donald Erb Donald Erb (January 17, 1927 – August 12, 2008) was an American composer best known for large orchestral works such as Concerto for Brass and Orchestra and ''Ritual Observances''. Early years Erb was born in Youngstown, Ohio, graduated ...

William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...

, and

William Thomas McKinley William Thomas McKinley (December 9, 1938 – February 3, 2015) was an American composer and jazz pianist born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania). He wrote more than 300 musical compositions in what he called a neo-tonal style, of which Margalit Fo ...

. Thomas is a former member of the faculties at

M.I.T. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, the

Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded ...

and the

Peabody Conservatory of Music The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, The Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and ...

in Baltimore where he spent nine years before resigning in 1997 in order to spend more time with his then new daughter, Caitlin, and the cello. Thomas is married to violist

Cynthia Phelps Cynthia Phelps (born 1961 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California) is an American violist whose versatile career involves work as a chamber musician, solo artist, and orchestral musician. Phelps is currently the Principal Violist of the New York P ...

and they live just outside New York City in Leonia, N.J., while Mr. Thomas maintains a secondary residence in St. Paul, MN. They have three daughters: Lili (by Thomas' marriage to Mihae Lee), Christina (by Phelps' marriage to baritone

David Malis David Malis (born c. 1957) is an American operatic baritone. In 1985 he won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. His roles include Papageno in Mozart's ''The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera i ...

), and Caitlin.OFFSTAGE WITH: Cynthia Phelps; Playing the Tune and Calling It, Too - New York Times
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ronald American classical cellists Living people 1954 births