Short Bio (suitable for concert programs)
Robert Thurston (b. 1959), a native of Tallahassee, Florida, received bachelor and master’s degrees in music education from Florida State University, where he studied arranging and composition with Charles Carter and William Peterson. He has also studied with Michael Davis. He has lived in the Washington DC area since 1994. Before that, he taught high-school bands for five years in Orlando, Florida, and Columbus, Ohio.
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About Me
I know this sounds weird, but if you're going to put a blurb about me in your program, please don't mention my day job specifically (assuming you know what it is). Personally, I wouldn't mind - it's not an "If I told you, I would have to kill you" kind of thing - but my employer is very serious about it. Thanks!
Not to be cryptic or anything, but this web site is my own, and is not affiliated with the United States Department of Defense in any way. I am solely responsible for the content on this site, and I do not intend for it, nor should it be construed, to represent any concern of the United States government.
I created this site to share my music with you. I have several original compositions and a few arrangements published by Carl Fischer. I have a few unpublished compositions as well. (Sooner or later I might share some pictures and some writing too.)
In addition to my own compositions, I have had the privilege of writing arrangements for a variety of artists, covering a range of musical styles. Most recently that has included ukulele sensation Jake Shimabukuro, the amazing Empire Brass quintet, country-pop supergroup Restless Heart, the fabulous Texas-based Celtic rock band The Rogues, R&B diva Patti LaBelle, country superstars Sara Evans and Clint Black, long-time Count Basie Orchestra drummer Butch Miles, and the delightful Joni James, who had several million-selling hits in the 1950s.
Over the years the list has also included Lee Ann Womack, Wynonna, Mark Wills and Roy Clark; Kool and the Gang, Chaka Kahn, The Miracles, Freda Payne, Rita Coolidge, and The Ventures; Spyro Gyra, George Duke, Kirk Whalum, Eric Marienthal, Keiko Matsui and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy; Ben Vereen, Melba Moore, Gloria Loring, Leslie Uggams and the late Nell Carter; Harolyn Blackwell and Simon Estes; and the String Trio of New York.
I also write for my two favorite marching bands in the world. I have written regularly for the Florida State University Marching Chiefs since 1981; and for the Pickerington Central High School Marching Band in Pickerington, Ohio (near Columbus), since 1986.
Many other groups have played my music. (I will post a list someday.) I don’t do as much freelance arranging as I used to, but I haven’t completely given it up.
I am a graduate of Florida State University, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education. I studied composition and arranging with Charles Carter (you might know one of his more famous pieces, Overture for Winds) and Bill Peterson. I played percussion in most of the ensembles there, and I marched for several years with the Marching Chiefs.
I taught band from 1987 to 1991 at Oak Ridge High School in Orlando, Florida, and from 1992 to 1993 at Liberty Union-Thurston Local Schools in Baltimore, Ohio (near Pickerington). (I tell people that last job had my name all over it <rimshot>, but to my knowledge I am not related to the namesake of Thurston, Ohio.)
From 1981 to 1984, during a hiatus from college, I worked for the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper, first as a clerk and later as a writer. My father was a fifth-generation journalist, and for a time I took up that legacy. I still love to write, but only as a hobby now. My younger sister represents the sixth generation.
I was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida. My family, my heart and my address of record are still there.
Just so my full-time employer knows I'm serious about this, let me repeat: The bobthurston.com Web site is not affiliated with the United States Department of Defense in any way. I am solely responsible for the content on this site, and I do not intend for it, nor should it be construed, to represent any concern of the United States government.
(Same goes for Florida State University, the Pickerington Local School District, Liberty Union-Thurston Local Schools, Orange County (FL) Public Schools, the Tallahassee Democrat, Publix Supermarkets, Burger King, or the long-defunct Nelson Music Inc. or Cinema Twin Theatres.)