St. Stephen's Episcopal Church presents a solo performance by Micah Thomas, the final in a new solo performance series at the church curated by twelve-time Grammy nominee and “living legend” (The New Yorker) Fred Hersch that highlights a new generation of critically acclaimed jazz pianists. An undergraduate at Juilliard, Thomas, who began playing piano at the age of two, has already made a name for himself outside of the classroom, playing with the likes of guitarist Lage Lund, saxophonist Stacey Dillard, and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.About Micah Thomas
About Micah Thomas...
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St. Stephen's Episcopal Church presents a solo performance by Micah Thomas, the final in a new solo performance series at the church curated by twelve-time Grammy nominee and “living legend” (The New Yorker) Fred Hersch that highlights a new generation of critically acclaimed jazz pianists. An undergraduate at Juilliard, Thomas, who began playing piano at the age of two, has already made a name for himself outside of the classroom, playing with the likes of guitarist Lage Lund, saxophonist Stacey Dillard, and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.About Micah Thomas
About Micah Thomas
Pianist and composer Micah Thomas grew up in Columbus, Ohio. Since his sophomore year of high school, he has been gigging regularly with violinist Christian Howes, accompanying him on tours across the country—Thomas has been a regular faculty member at Howes’ annual Creative Strings Workshop since 2015. Thomas frequently appears with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra as a guest artist, performing with John Clayton and Joshua Redman for their 45th anniversary concert series in 2017, and has performed throughout Ohio with distinguished musicians including JD Allen, Billy Contreras, Eddie Bayard, George Delancey, Cedric Easton, and Bobby Floyd.
In 2015, Thomas moved from Ohio to New York to pursue a BM in Jazz Studies at the Juilliard School and is now performing in venues throughout the city, both as a leader of his own groups and as a sideman for such luminaries as Lage Lund, Etienne Charles, Immanuel Wilkins, Joel Ross, Gabe Schnider, Tivon Pennicott, Harish Raghavan, Stacy Dillard, and Joshua Redman. He appeared as a guest with Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in 2017 alongside Sullivan Fortner, Aaron Diehl, and Joel Wenhardt and performed solo piano at the 2018 Newport Jazz Festival.
Curator's Statement: Fred Hersch
"From my more than 35 years teaching jazz piano at many elite conservatories to my more than 40 years living in New York City and keeping an ear to the ground, I have been aware of—and in many cases, mentored—some of the bright young lights of the jazz piano scene. My series this year shines some light on three particularly strong solo pianists. Playing solo is a true test of pianistic resources, imagination, and awareness of all of the many historical styles of jazz piano. And these young artists are more than up to the task.
Micah Thomas is the youngest [artist in the series], still a student at The Juilliard School. I am already tagging him as one who has a unique style as well as all the tools needed to make a major contribution to the world of jazz piano."
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