Thomas Shaw

Piano | Voice | Drums

Thomas began studying piano at age five with the principal accompanist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, adding trumpet, voice and drumset to his studies through his youth and adolescence. While his childhood instruction was steeped in classical music, he nonetheless developed an unshakable feeling early on that it was Time to Rock.

After majoring in Theater at Yale University, Thomas moved to New York, initially to pursue a professional acting career. But his love for music soon drew him to the Collective School of Music, where he studied drums, voice and piano for two years before becoming one of the youngest members of their faculty. While working at the Collective, he continued to further his musical studies at the Juilliard School, and led and performed in bands of every style imaginable.

Thomas has taught students of all ages, from introducing young beginners to the keyboard to leading senior citizens in weekly ensemble classes. He is enthusiastic about meeting students wherever they may be in their musical journey, and he’s excited to develop performance repertoire based on each student’s specific musical interests.

Since moving to Austin in 2011, he has been working as a producer and composer of commercial music and media. He has also released two albums by his own band, Mount Pressmore, and regularly performs with them and several other projects. He’s thrilled to be joining DSR, and to play a part in the development of each student’s unique musical voice.