Dr. Richard Thomas

Dr. Richard Thomas | Faculty | Department of Music | Presbyterian College | Clinton SC

Richard Thomas DMA

Professor of Music

Department of Music

Email Dr. Thomas

(864) 833-8469


Dr. Thomas – Curriculum Vitae »

Education Background

Doctor of Musical Arts, University of South Carolina
Master of Music, University of North Texas
Bachelor of Music, DePauw University

Research Fields/ Areas of Specialty/Teaching
  • Cello Performance (emphasis on orchestral playing)
  • Musicology
  • Music History
Student Research
  • Doctoral Dissertation: The Life and Music of Spanish Cellist Gaspar Cassadó
Professional Memberships/Organizations/Activities
  • American String Teachers Association
  • College Music Society
  • South Carolina Music Educators Association
Performances/Exhibits

Former Member:

  • Orquesta Sinfónica De Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia, South America
  • Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional De La Republica Dominica, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

About Dr. Thomas

Dr. Richard Thomas is Professor of Music at Presbyterian College. He teaches cello, bass, chamber music, and directs the Presbyterian College Chamber Orchestra. He is also Adjunct Instructor at Lander University, and Instructor at the Laurens County Academy of Music.

Thomas is a former faculty member of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, the Universidad del Cauca and Universidad del Valle in Colombia, the Conservatorio Nacional of the Dominican Republic, the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, the Wilmington Academy of Music and from 1999-2008 was String Department Head at Camp Encore/Coda in Maine.

Thomas held full-time positions in the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of the Dominican Republic. He was Principal Cello of the Wilmington Symphony and Tallis Chamber Orchestra in North Carolina, the Irving Symphony and Garland Symphony in Texas, and the Encore-Coda Chamber Orchestra in Maine. Thomas was Interim Assistant Principal of the South Carolina Philharmonic, Assistant Principal of the East Texas Symphony, and the Dallas Lyric Opera Orchestra.

Dr. Thomas has taught and performed in China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Japan, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Venezuela and throughout the US. He conducted the 2018 SC Region 1, 11-12 Orchestra and the 2020 SC Region 3, 11-12 Orchestra.

Thomas studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music, DePauw University, Temple University, the University of North Texas and received a DMA degree from the University of South Carolina. His cello teachers include Cassel Grubb, Alan Harris, Robert Jesselson, Hirofumi Kano, Robert Newkirk, and Adolfo Odnoposoff.