Thomas Azar
Piano/Piano Toons

Thomas Shibley Azar received his BM in Piano Performance and another in Theory and Composition from the University of Texas at El Paso, where he held the Robert Dolby Scholarship for percussion and the Marian Aptekar Scholarship for piano. He graduated from the University of Arizona with a Master of Music in performance in 2007 under the tutelage of Tannis Gibson. Thomas is currently working towards his Post-graduate diploma at the Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of world-renowned pedagogue Phillip Kawin. He is scheduled for a performance of Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto in a student showcase concert this March.

Over the years, Thomas Azar has upheld a busy teaching schedule. His teaching experience includes a vast variety of pupils, aged 5 through adulthood. He taught in El Paso at Morrow Piano Studios, where his duties included theory tutoring, lesson teaching, and involved much work with the latest pedagogical technologies. His private students date back to 1996, and since then he has seen a great deal of success preparing students and helping them achieve their personal goals. Especially helpful to Thomas was a course on pedagogy under specialist Dr. Lisa Zdechlik, where the art of teaching was carefully and thoughtfully analyzed and rehearsed. While at the University of Arizona, Thomas devised a teaching video which follows a sequential approach for a composition by Louis Kohler. This video is now a regular part of the Piano Lab Curriculum at the U of A.

Thomas Azar encourages his students to familiarize themselves with the art of piano playing by developing aural, visual and tactile skills equally. Ear training and employing critical listening are also crucial parts of his teaching process. Concepts are first experienced actively, then sequenced in a logical manner during the lessons to provide a meaningful understanding and maximum command of skills.

Thomas Azar was a resident artist for the prestigious OMA (Opening Minds through the Arts) program in the Tucson Unified School District. The goal of this program is to reinforce scholastic skills in elementary-aged students by incorporating the arts, such as opera. He also served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Arizona, where he was in charge of two contrasting sections of piano lab curriculum, for both Majors and Non-majors.

In addition to teaching, Thomas Azar has also maintained an active performing career. He was a percussionist and keyboardist for the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, El Paso Ballet, and El Paso Opera Companies. As a winner of the university’s annual Concerto and Aria competition, he performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in c minor. He also garnered first prize in the El Paso Symphony Guild’s Young Artists Competition in 2001. In 2006 he toured with the University of Arizona Symphony in a performance of Liszt’s Totentanz as a result of winning the annual President’s Competition at that school.