André J. Thomas

André Jerome Thomas (born 15 August 1952) is an American composer and conductor. He served as a professor of music at the College of Music at Florida State University and the artistic director for the Tallahassee Community Chorus. In addition to his conducting and composition credits, Thomas is a published author, having written Way Over in Beulah Lan’: Understanding and Performing the Negro Spiritual, and numerous journal articles. Early life Thomas grew up in Wichita, Kansas with his two sisters and mother. Thomas’s mother cleaned buses for Continental Trailways and sang in church. According to Thomas, this singing initiated his fascination with music. Upon entering junior high school, Thomas decided to pursue piano formally. He began taking lessons at Wichita State University, and by eighth grade, he won the Federated Music Clubs Piano Competition. While the discomfort may have continued throughout high school, it did not stop him from being actively involved in music and composition. At 16, Thomas accepted the role of Minister of Music at Tabernacle Baptist Church. He began arranging music to meet the needs of his choir. However, his time as a music minister was not easy. Many