Teaching
Welcome to my teaching page. Please look over my ESSAYS and my BIOGRAPHY to see if my approach to the teaching of musical composition interests you. If so, I would be delighted to work with you either in person or through a long-distance arrangement.
- No long term commitment is required; I prefer one appointment at a time.
- All fees are customized and negotiable.
- Set up the first consultation by contacting Ron Thomas directly.
Also, I am on the faculty of various schools, if you would like to learn in a more formal environment:
- Music and Arts in Exton, PA. Call 484 875-0101.
- Philadelphia Biblical University in Langhorne, PA. Call 215 702-4329.
IN-PERSON CONSULTATION
My studio is west of Philadelphia and north of Wilmington, Delaware, in Coastesville, Pennsylvania. If that location is not convenient, I suggest we try to work long distance.
LONG-DISTANCE CONSULTATION
- After contacting me by letter, phone or e-mail, you may send me your scores (via e-mail attachment or regular mail) and/or your audio CDs or tapes.
- We begin by deciding upon a procedure for our collaboration, typically by telephone or e-mail, and then we negotiate the fee.
- Upon receipt of that fee, we proceed with the consultation.
LETTER TO A INQUIRING COMPOSER
Dear Friend and Colleague,
. . . . As you know from our correspondence, my greatest ambition is to influence and help individuals achieve their highest artistic aspirations and that my services are customized and my fee negotiable.
. . . . While I continue to pursue my own artistic goals as a composer, a jazz musician, and a writer, my principal ambition is teaching and my website has been fashioned to attract gifted individuals like you.
. . . . You know that there is no special school-of-thought based on my own music. I believe in
Music As A Free Art and my Essays detail this notion very thoroughly.
. . . . My intention with my students is to enhance the actualization of their vision by expanding their contact with resources based on my perception of the original factors already discernible in their work.
. . . . I fully expect that those who consult with me will surpass me in every way possible, to my honor. Nor am I bothered if their fame or financial success exceeds my own. My focus is entirely upon making a good contribution to the art form of music not the promotion of myself. I have a great reverence for the art form that I have given so many years of my life to learn. I also cling to the notion of the nobility and the dignity of work in general.
. . . . Your attractive and intriguing music tells me that you too respect and love the art form of the composer and that your view is not narrowly limited to only music but is informed by other art forms and disciplines as well. I look forward to working with you.
. . . . Yours truly,
. . . . Ron Thomas