Martha Thomas

Pianist Dr. Martha Thomas has given concerts and presentations across the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, South America, and Africa. Thomas is featured on 11 albums on the ACA Digital, Centaur, Ravello, and Albany labels. Her latest, ECHOES: Past and Future, features music from the 20^th and 21^st centuries, including Noggin by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Melinda Wagner. She has been praised for the “lyrical beauty of her playing” and “her mastery of rhythmic and textural complexities.”  

Thomas has appeared at numerous conferences and festivals, including the American Liszt Society, College Music Society, International Horn Symposium, North American Saxophone Alliance, World Saxophone Congress, Festival of Women Composers, American Suzuki Institute, Music Teachers National Association, and National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors. 

A native Texan, Thomas holds B.M. and D.M.A. degrees from the University of Texas and an M.M. from the University of Wisconsin. Her major piano professors were William Race, Danielle Martin, Howard Karp, with additional studies at the Aspen Music Festival with Lee Luvisi. 

Thomas taught piano at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and The University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music. She recently retired as the Despy Karlas Professor of Piano and Associate Director for Undergraduate Studies. Active in professional music organizations, Thomas served in leadership roles as GMTA President and MTNA Southern Division Director and was instrumental in helping found the Stevens Point Area Music Teachers Association. In 2012, she received the GMTA Teacher of the Year Award and was named a MTNA Foundation Fellow in 2015. Her students have enjoyed numerous successes, including performances in Carnegie Hall and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and receiving prizes at national and international competitions.