Tevin Thomas is a U.S. musician, composer, keyboard artist, producer and educator. Graduated with Educational Technology Masters from

New York Institute of Technology The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a private research university founded in 1955. It has two main campuses in New York—one in Old Westbury, on Long Island, and one in Manhattan. Additionally, it has a cybersecu ...

, he has been teaching music at PS.811x

Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...

, where he performs with autistic students. Tevin was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

and also grew up in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. Thanks to his music teacher Richard Wilson, he had his first gig at the age 14, playing sax and keyboards in a jazz band at the Tulsa

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

with Robert and

Charlie Wilson (singer) Charles Kent Wilson (born January 29, 1953), also known as Uncle Charlie, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and the former lead vocalist of the Gap Band. As a solo artist Wilson has been nominated for 13 Grammy awards and 11 NAACP Im ...

, Ken Collier and Troy Hanson. Since then, he has performed all over US and abroad working with: 802, Aisha Wonder,

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

Babyface (musician) Kenneth Brian Edmonds (born April 10, 1959), better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 12 Grammy A ...

Bloodstone (band) Bloodstone is an American R&B, soul, and funk group, most popular in the 1970s and early 1980s. The band charted thirteen songs between 1973 and 1984. Biography Formed in 1962, in Kansas City, Missouri, the group was a high school doo-wop gro ...

Bobbi Humphrey Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Humphrey (born April 25, 1950) is an American jazz flautist and singer who plays jazz fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. She has recorded twelve albums and founded the jazz label Paradise Sounds Records. In 1971, she was the first f ...

Craig Harris Craig S. Harris (born September 10, 1953) is an American jazz trombonist, who started working with Sun Ra in 1976. He also has worked with Abdullah Ibrahim, David Murray, Lester Bowie, Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Char ...

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

Gary Bartz Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards. Biography Bartz studied at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Works ...

Gary Byrd Imhotep Gary Byrd (born March 14, 1949) is an American, New York City-based radio talk show host and executive producer, radio DJ, poet, songwriter, music recording artist and producer, rapper, writer and community advocate/activist. Byrd began h ...

, Impact Repertory Theatre,

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

Jeff Redd Jeff Redd is an American singer who performed new jack swing-style R&B music in the late 1980s - Early 1990s Career A New York native, Redd began singing with the short-lived group, The Sophisticated Gents, at the age of 17 in the mid-1980s. Re ...

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

, Reverend Run and

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

. He is one of the very few pianists having performed with the godfather of avant-garde jazz

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

. Tevin Thomas co-wrote the song " Raise It Up" with

Jamal Joseph Jamal Joseph (formerly Eddie Joseph; ...

, Charles Mack and IMPACT Repertory Theatre, who performed in the 2007 film ''

August Rush ''August Rush'' is a 2007 musical drama film directed by Kirsten Sheridan and produced by Richard Barton Lewis. The screenplay is by Nick Castle and James V. Hart, with a story by Paul Castro and Castle. A co-production between the United States, ...

''. “Raise it up” was nominated in 2008 Oscars in the Best Original Song category. Tevin performed with Impact and

Jamia Simone Nash Jamia Simone Nash (born August 21, 1996) in Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S., also known simply as Jamia, is an American singer and actress. Career Nash's first national appearance was in ''Love & Basketball'' in 2000 in which she played Quincy an ...

at the 80th

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. In 2009 the August Rush soundtrack was nominated for

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. Tevin moved to strasbourg France in 2014. Tevin toured with the SunRa Arkestra from 2018 to 2022.

References

{{Authority control American male composers American composers Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri Educators from Missouri