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Martha Thomas, piano
Pianist, Dr. Martha Thomas maintains an active career as performer and clinician, giving concerts and presentations across the United States and in Canada, Australia, Europe, Africa, and South America. Appearances at conferences and festivals include those of the American Liszt Society, College Music Society, InterHarmony International Music Festival, North American Saxophone Alliance, World Saxophone Congress, Festival of Women Composers, and Music Teachers National Association. Ms. Thomas has given more than 200 solo and collaborative concerts on university campuses across the country, including Cincinnati Conservatory, University of Oklahoma, Texas Tech University, University of Massachusetts, Arizona State University, University of Minnesota, and University of Texas.
Ms. Thomas served as faculty accompanist for the University of Georgia Chamber Choir in its 2011 Iberian tour, performing concerts at Toledo's Sinagoga del Tránsito, the Sevilla Conservatory, and Lisbon's Palacio Foz. Recent international activities include lecture-recitals at the World Piano Conference in Serbia and the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference in Toowoomba, solo and collaborative concerts at the Michael Joseph Center in Nairobi, Kenya, and a residency comprising teaching and performing with UGA colleague Milton Masciadri, double bassist, at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia.
Busy as a recording artist, Ms. Thomas is now featured on ten compact disc recordings on the ACA Digital, Centaur, Albany, and PARMA labels. Just released within the past year are two new collaborative recordings: Arts Nostra: But Now the Night, featuring five 21st century compositions for two pianos with Sang-Hie Lee from the University of South Florida; and American Art Songs and Their Poetry, with UGA colleague Stephanie Tingler, soprano. Martha’s first solo CD, featuring selected solo piano music of American composer George Rochberg, garnered excellent reviews and a citation in the New York Times. Her second solo recording, Max Reger: The Forgotten Romantic, features music from five of Reger’s solo collections.
A native Texan, Ms. Thomas holds degrees through the doctorate from the Universities of Texas (BM and DMA) and Wisconsin (MM). Her major piano professors were William Race, Danielle Martin, and Howard Karp, as well as additional studies at the Aspen Music Festival with Lee Luvisi. Dr. Thomas has participated in master classes and coached with many nationally renowned pianists including Jack Radunsky, Marylene Dosse, Leon Fleisher, John Perry, and Ronald Turini. Ms. Thomas studied piano pedagogy with Verna Harder, Jeanette Ross, and Amanda Vick Lethco and credits them with fostering her love of teaching.
Having begun her teaching career at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Ms. Thomas is the Despy Karlas Professor of Piano and Associate Director for Undergraduate Studies at the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music. A member of UGA's Senior Teaching Fellows, Ms. Thomas has also been inducted into UGA's Teaching Academy. In 2012, she was honored to receive the Teacher of the Year Award from the Georgia Music Teachers Association and was named an MTNA Foundation Fellow in 2015. Her students have enjoyed numerous successes through the years, including recent performances in Carnegie Hall and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, as well as prize-winners at national and international competitions.