Alumni in the Spotlight

KORNEL THOMAS (‘05)

This issue’s Alumni in the Spotlight features Kornel Thomas, an awardwinning conductor and composer. His latest achievement was winning the 2nd prize at the 2022 Bartók World Competition out of 96 composers from 31 countries. Composing is vital to Kornel’s’ livelihood and his work, he was a also prize-winner in the Müpa Composers Competition. Kornel’s late mother was Hungarian (Catalina Szabo-Thomas taught German and Spanish and ran summer camp at AISB from 1994-2010) and his father is American (Geoffrey Thomas, High School German Teacher at AISB from 1993-2019) he grew up in Hungary and lived many years in Austria and later in the United States and has been active in several countries.

What was the most memorable thing during your years at AISB?

This memory comes from the fourth grade when the elementary school was at its old location on Kakukk street. The entire fourth grade did a project on the Amazon rainforest. We decorated the entire hallway with our artwork of Amazonian trees, plants, and animals. To me, as a child, the scale of the project seemed astronomic. Something that has stuck with me to this day was learning that McDonalds and all the other fast-food restaurants were exploiting the Amazon, cutting massive amounts of rainforest to graze cows. It is outrageous that this is still happening today.

When did music become a big part of your life?

Growing up in a musical family meant that music was part of my life from the very beginning. As a five- or six-year-old, I would be digging through my Lego box searching for a specific Lego piece while humming a very complicated theme by Bach. My father loves telling me this anecdote. Naturally, I started taking violin lessons at a young age. However, it wasn’t until my first dabbles in composition when I knew that music is what I wanted to do in my life.

Do you remember the first piece you composed?

Yes, it was a solo violin work and a string quartet. I recently came across the string quartet. I should burn it, just like Brahms did with all his works he deemed unsuitable to the public.

What qualities will help a young composer and/or conductor to succeed?

Great education, great music teachers, extremely dedicated work ethic, immense amount of networking, perseverance, and more networking. Did I mention networking?

You have won several awards throughout your career. What was the most rewarding?

Yes, I have had success in multiple competitions. However, in my opinion competitions are gruesome, soul-crushing sporting events. Every time I have been a part of one, my state of mind deteriorates. Unfortunately, to get ahead in a musical career today, one must part take in them and finish at the top or at least near the top. The most rewarding aspect of the competitions is working with great musicians and creating concerts that are exhilarating and inspiring, which is significantly more fulfilling to me.

You have conducted the Hungarian State Opera, Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Nice Philharmonic Orchestra just to name a few. What are some of the accomplishments you’re most proud of in your career thus far?

Every conducting engagement is unique and thrilling. I believe the best accomplishment to achieve is the honor of being invited back. This means you are doing something right. The orchestras enjoy working with you and together you are creating exciting and meaningful concerts.

How do you find inspiration to write music?

I had an over a decade long hiatus with composing. I struggled immensely with producing my own ideas. I did not realize at the time, but not succeeding at this outlet hurt my mental health. My wife’s immense support and the pandemic lockdowns helped to open a door within me to write again. The flood gates are now open. Inspiration comes from the vast knowledge I have gained over time, the many ideas I have had bottled up within me, and my curiosity to learn about the many musical cultures.

What or Who influenced you the most?

My first composing teacher, Laszlo Draskoczy, was an immense influence on me and his teachings accompany me to this day still.

What is a normal day like in your line of work (assuming there is such a thing as a normal day)?

My days look very different than the average person’s. A musician’s life is an every day, every hour lifestyle. Even when I’m not actively studying, composing, or conducting, my brain is thinking about music. This is not always fun but most of the time I do enjoy the inner music brain. My year alternates between two different phases: conducting and composing. The conducting phase depends on my conducting engagements with orchestras. Conducting an orchestra is similar to presenting at a TED talk event. You must have a deep understanding of the works you will be conducting by the first rehearsal with an orchestra. A conductor’s preparation must be meticulous and thorough. Studying at such a deep level takes time. During my prep days I will be at the piano or kitchen table studying most of the day. Typically, concerts happen on Friday or Saturday (this is not always the case) and leading up to a concert I will rehearse four to five days with an orchestra. Depending on how hard the repertoire is, rehearsals can last between 3 to 6 hours a day. My composing phase must be during longer pockets of time when I do not have conducting engagements. Like an author, composing consumes your whole day. There are no time stamps, one can work all day without realizing it.

What projects are you working on right now?

I am currently in my composing phase. I am writing a concerto written for solo clarinet and wind ensemble, which will be performed in the states in March 2023.

What next? What is your main goal in your career?

Continuing the upward path that I have built in composing and conducting. This line of work takes time and patience. I would love to conduct in countries that I have never visited before and make my list of compositions larger by the day.

You also taught music for children to "transform and empower their lives through music". What is the most innovative idea you have seen in education, elsewhere?

I worked at a music program in Denver called ‘El Sistema’, which was dedicated to children who came from low socio-economic households. The program was completely free for these students. During my time there, I worked daily with over a two hundred students. Music was a way to teach these young students joy, vigor, perseverance, fine motor skills, and so many more positive attributes. All the students, no matter their skill level, played in an orchestra. My innovative idea: implement more orchestra/band time and opportunities for all students.

What three ideas should we implement?

I cannot stress enough how vitally important the arts are, especially music, for children. To quote Jose Antonio Abreu the founder of ‘El Sistema’: “Music has to be recognized as an agent of social development in the highest sense, because it transmits the highest values - solidarity, harmony, mutual compassion. And it has the ability to unite an entire community and to express sublime feelings.”

I worked at a music program in Denver called ‘El Sistema’, which was dedicated to children who came from low socio-economic households.

My ideas are naturally going to be biased to music. I believe schools should heavily invest in the orchestra or band culture. Have an arsenal of instruments at hand. Create easy onsite access to private music lessons. (Texas middle and high schools engage a massive number of professional music teachers to teach privately at their schools.) Believe me, the students who study an instrument at a high level are the ones who get into medical, engineering, or law school.

How does music help with resilience?

Learning an instrument uses so many parts of the brain. Fine motor skills, coordination, learning to “speak” and read a new language (yes, music is a language). There are so many layers that must coexist, I am sometime surprised our brains can do this. For the brain, studying music is like the working out the muscles at the gym. The more you do it, the stronger it gets. Learning so many different skills like this comes from failing and trying again and again; musicians learn quickly that they need to adjust quickly, taking into consideration what they hear and what their teachers ask of them.

What do you listen to when you drive?

Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast – Revisionist History

Steeped in our AISB ethos is an enduring sense of Community and Connection. It is in this spirit that we have heralded the continual growth of the AISB Alumni program. It begins, middle and ends with you!