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DAVE
By Tammy Yosich
David Michael Thomas would not refer to himself as a prodigy or a musical genius. Music was ingrained in his
soul before he was born. His parents – T. Donley Thomas and Margaret Lawless – were both classical musicians.
However, generationally that is as far back as it goes as his grandparents were not musicians. After graduating
high school with honors, his father was accepted into Eastman Conservatory of Music in Rochester, New York.
T. Donley enlisted in the U.S. Army Band Corps and afterwards became the first American to renew a Fulbright
scholarship, continuing his studies in Vienna, Austria. Dave lost his father in 2014, but his love of music and
education lives on. Dave’s mother continues to play music today.
Both T. Donley and Margaret played in the Paducah, Kentucky; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Jackson, Tennessee
symphony orchestras for decades. His father was an associate professor of music for over thirty years, and after
retiring in 1989, the family moved to Jackson. Following Donley’s retirement he was named Professor Emeritus,
an honor bestowed on very few people.

Jackson, Tennessee, provided vital opportunities for musicians because of its sweet spot between two major mu-
sic cities: Nashville to the east and Memphis to the west. Thomas, while twelve when he moved to Jackson with
his family, considers Jackson his hometown.

Most local folks know Thomas as a stellar pianist; however, Thomas started his musical journey with the violin.
Thomas was two years and nine months old when enrolled in Suzuki Violin lessons. This violin training meth-
od originated from Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki, who believed in applying the basic principles of language
acquisition to music learning (TO LEARN MORE click here https://suzukiassociation.org/about/).

During a violin recital, Thomas and another musician on stage had a disharmonious exchange that ended with
Thomas utilizing his violin as a debate ender. Thomas's parents and the other child's parents decided Thomas
would be better suited with a much heavier, less swing-worthy instrument. Thus, after being dragged off the
stage by his ear, Thomas began piano lessons four months later.

ZGP: What other instruments do you play?
I can do a little something with almost anything I pick up. I have been trained in the
piano, cello, and trombone. I have not played the trombone in such a long while, and Young Dave Thomas
the cello, I am reasonably proficient. I taught myself to play the guitar from what I had
already learned from the piano and cello.

ZGP: Who are some of your musical influences?
Well, I have a tattoo of Beethoven on my leg, so we could certainly start there. At
thirteen I watched the film, "Great Balls of Fire," for the first time. During the movie,
Dennis Quaid, as Jerry Lee Lewis, plays "Great Balls of Fire" and halfway through the
performance takes a bottle of bourbon and pours it all over this magnificent black
104 www.zoegracepublishing.com ZGP Magazine