Thom Priest
University of Illinois
Champaign IL
and
Millikin University
Decatur IL
Music
Email: t-pries@uiuc.edu
Music
Email: t-pries@uiuc.edu
Thom Priest is employed as an assistant professor of music and music education at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. Currently, he is engaged in doctoral studies at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. His research is focused on fostering creative and critical thinking in music learning environments. At the University of Illinois, he teaches fourth grade music at the university laboratory setting while coordinating undergraduates in early field experience. Prior to entering the University of Illinois, he served in the public schools of Colorado as an elementary music specialist in the Boulder Valley School District and the Gunnison Watershed School District. Before returning to the United States in 1988, he instructed music at the Anglican International School in Jerusalem. Besides his extensive background in music education, Mr. Priest is also a bassoonist with significant experience in a diversity of performing groups. These include the Santiago Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony, the Illinois Symphony, and the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra. He lives at home in Urbana with his wife, Diana, their cat, Evinrude, and their dog, Donovan.