Dr. Thomas Willmann is a music educator, conductor, instrumentalist, and composer/arranger. He serves as the Director of Instrumental Studies and Assistant Professor of Music Education at Texas Wesleyan University. He earned his Ph.D. in 2022 from Florida State University in Music Education with an emphasis on Instrumental Conducting, his Master’s of Music Education in 2016 with an Instrumental Conducting cognate from the University of Colorado Boulder, and his Bachelor’s degree in 2005 in Music Education with a focus on Instrumental music from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was a music educator for primary and secondary levels for fourteen years in Colorado and Indiana.
Dr. Willmann is an active clinician, solo/ensemble judge, and regular guest conductor in the DFW area. He has been an instrumentalist (trombone/brass) for over 30 years in the United States, Austria, and Russia. While in Colorado he performed with the Colorado State University (CSU) Symphony Orchestra, Soli Deo Gloria of Colorado Springs, and the Little London Winds in Colorado Springs. Thomas is a member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), Florida Music Education Association (FMEA), Colorado Music Educators Association (CMEA), Florida Bandmasters Association (FBA), International Society of Music Educators (ISME), and College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA). He is also a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Kappa Psi.
He has been fortunate to attend master classes from Colonel Michael Colburn, Colonel Lowell Graham, Craig Kirchhoff, Ray Cramer, Julie Giroux, Richard Saucedo, Alfred Watkins, Bruce Pearson, Loras Schissel, Richard Blatti, Dick Mayne, Anthony Maiello, Jeff Reynolds, Gillian MacKay, and Wendy McCallum. One of his favorite memories is playing under the baton of Frederick Fennell at Butler University in 2004.
He has compositions for Concert Band, Flex-Band, Small Ensembles/Chamber, and Instrumental Solos.
Thomas enjoys a wide variety of activities such as cycling, snowboarding, rock climbing, tennis, running (sometimes), wildlife photography, and camping.
