Margaret Thomas
Associate Professor of Music
Chair of the Music Department
Joined Connecticut College: 1999
Education
B.A., Whitman College; M.A., The University of Washington-Seattle; Ph.D., Yale University
Specializations
Tonal and non-tonal music theory
Issues of rhythm and time in contemporary music
Music by women composers
Music theory pedagogy
Midge Thomas has a particular interest in the rhythmic practices of contemporary music, with a special focus on the music of the highly inventive twentieth-century composer Conlon Nancarrow. She examines Nancarrow's use of rhythmic complexity in the context of broader concerns shared by many contemporary composers regarding the temporal organization of music.
She has presented her research at annual meetings of the Rocky Mountain Society for Music Theory, Music Theory Midwest, and Music Theory Southeast. She has articles and reviews published or forthcoming in Journal of Music Theory, Perspectives of New Music, Intégral, and the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
Professor Thomas served in 2011 on the College's Centennial committee as a judge in the search for a new Centennial song.
Prior to her arrival at Connecticut College, Thomas taught at Rutgers University. Devoted to teaching, she strives to share with her students the power music theory, aural skills, and analysis have to open new paths for understanding and performing music. Courses include: The Creative World of Music, Tonal Theory, Twentieth-Century Theory, and Music Analysis.
Visit the music department website.
"Time is the last frontier of music."
- Conlon Nancarrow
