Thomas Albert (born December 14, 1948) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and educator. He attended the public schools of

Lebanon, Pennsylvania Lebanon ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,814 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lebanon was founded by George Steitz in 1740 and was originally named ...

and

Wilson, North Carolina Wilson is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 23rd-most populous city in North Carolina. Located about east of the capital city of Raleigh, North Car ...

. In 1970, he received the degree A.B. (magna cum laude) from Atlantic Christian College (now

Barton College Barton College is a private liberal arts college in Wilson, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It offers 29 majors and 7 minors as well as 6 master's degrees. History Barton College was incorpo ...

). He received the M.Mus. (1972) and D.M.A. (1974) in composition from the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

. He is a faculty member of Shenandoah Conservatory at

Shenandoah University Shenandoah University is a private university in Winchester, Virginia, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students across more than 200 areas of study in six schools and colleges. Shenandoah University is one of five Unit ...

as a professor of music (composition and musical theatre) and Harold Herman Chair in Musical Theatre. During his tenure, he served as the conductor and music director of more than 100 musicals and revues. From 1989 to 2004 he was associate dean of the Conservatory; from 2004 to 2008, he was chair of the Theatre Division. He was a music director for Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre from 1984 to 2019. From 2015 to 2019, he was the producing artistic director of Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre. He is currently professor emeritus, Composition and Musical Theatre. His best-known composition is ''Thirteen Ways'', commissioned by eighth blackbird. The piece was inspired by

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...

’ poem, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird", from which the ensemble derived its name,LeBell, June.
Music review: Sarasota Orchestra 'Music of Our Time
'" Sarasota, Florida: YourObserver.com, September 25, 2016. It is the title work of eighth blackbird’s first commercial recording, ''Thirteen Ways'' (

Cedille Records Cedille Records () is the independent record label of the Chicago Classical Recording Foundation. History In 1989, James Ginsburg, the son of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, founded Cedille Records as a for-profit clas ...

References

External links

Thomas Albert's official siteThomas Albert, Shenandoah University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert, Thomas 1948 births Living people American male classical composers 20th-century American classical composers People from Lebanon, Pennsylvania Barton College alumni University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign School of Music alumni Classical musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male musicians