Thom Howard, Guitarist   Play Pretty Productions

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Master Solo Guitarist 
    Ranging from the energetic and raucous mood of fingerstyle and ragtime styled solo works to the beautiful and intense flamenco and Latin rhythms to the sedate and lyrical music of such classical composers as Ravel, Pachelbel and Scarlatti, Thom can quickly take the audience through several centuries of enjoyable music, or focus on a single style to please a specific crowd.  Thom's first solo guitar CD "Sometimes a Guitar is Just a Guitar" delights listeners with its variety.

Award-Winning Performer
     Thom was awarded first place in the 2003 Kansas State Fingerpick Guitar competition.  In performances at theaters, festivals, restaurants and coffeehouses, Thom always manages to open the eyes and ears of enthusiastic crowds.  Performances can be on a specific theme such as popular tunes, Spanish music, renaissance or baroque - or the show can be a mixed bag or many styles.  Listeners who expect to hear the standard "guy with a guitar" music are surprised to hear a Bach lute suite followed by a Scott Joplin rag, or a Brazilian samba by Jobim leading to a Spanish malaguena. 
      He takes his music into schools and libraries, presenting assemblies with themes about musical structure, musical styles, writing music, the "micro-athletics" of playing an instrument and several others.  See the Programs page for more information, and check Thom's Schedule to find out where you can hear him perform next!

Unique Wedding Musician 
     Weddings require carefully selected and well-performed music, and as a veteran wedding musician Thom has played inside and outside, performed as accompaniment for singers and instrumentalists, and provided music as a soloist for all phases of wedding ceremonies.  Many couples have selected solo guitar for the intimacy of the instrument, the ability to play where no organ or piano is available, or for the unique aspect it adds to the event.
     Wedding receptions and rehearsal dinners are opportunities for the couple to thank their guests, and the variety of instrumental music fits as a perfect background to these events.

Versatile Songwriter
     Several of his original guitar solo pieces blend the various styles he uses to create a distinct style of music of his own.  "Columbia", a piece named for his home city in Missouri, demonstrates the depth to which Thom has developed a fingerstyle technique that sets him apart from the average guitarist.  For "Ten Years Later", written on the event of his tenth wedding anniversary, he turns the same technical skills to a quieter, contented piece that evokes, as it has been called, the "controlled improvisations that make a marriage".  Thom has also written songs for professional storytellers, to suit special gatherings, children's songs for Sing a Song with Sarah and Thom, and contemporary songs for his coffeehouse and festival shows.

Dedicated Teacher
     In January, 2003, Thom Howard accepted a position as a visiting instructor of Classical Guitar at Central Methodist College, Fayette, Missouri.  Thom has also taught classical guitar at The University of Missouri as well as to private students since 1984, drawing on over twenty years of study, solo performance, performing with orchestras, vocalists, other guitarists and instrumentalists, and a Bachelor of Music degree.

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FEBRUARY 2008
2-8-07  "Bait Shop Boys" at Jazz restaurant, Columbia, MO
2-19-08	 "Snow Ball" children's dance, with Tom Verdot and Jim Thaxter, Columbia Public Library, Columbia, MO

APRIL 2008
4-18-08  "F-150" at Mid-Missouri Traditional Dancers contradance, 7:00 pm First Christian Church, Columbia, MO

MAY 2008
5-16-08  The SkirtLifters, House Concert in Fayetteville, AR]
5-17-08	  The SkirtLifters, Clayton House, Fort Smith, AR

JUNE 2008
6-7-08  The SkirtLifters in Helena, AR
6-20-08   F-150 at Mid-Missouri Traditional Dancers contradance, 7:00 pm First Christian Church, Columbia, MO

Thom Howard    Selected Past Performances

2003 Fingerstyle Guitar Champion at the Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships, Lawrence, KS
Solo guitar CD "Sometimes a Guitar is Just a Guitar" released March 2002
Blind Boone Ragtime Festival,  (with Tom Verdot)  Columbia, MO
 "The Skirtlifters" classic string band, performances in Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland and throughout the US
Musical Instruments Museum, (with Tom Verdot) Brussels, Belgium
Dali's Spanish Restaurant, (house musician since restaurant opened Summer 2003) Columbia, MO
Hundreds of Wedding Ceremonies and Receptions and Private Dinners throughout Missouri
Dozens of Musicals with UMC, Rock Bridge HS, TRYPS, and Stephens College
Original Music for "The Price of Dreams" at the Corner Playhouse, UMC, Columbia, MO
"Steve and DC Show" Live Radio accompanying Anthony Clark, 2.5 million listeners Across the US
"Pepper & Friends" live TV show, NBC 8, Columbia, MO (repeat appearances)
Navision US Annual Corporate Conference, Atlanta, GA
First Night Columbia, Columbia, MO (repeat appearances)
Soloist with the Columbia Hand Bell Ensemble, Columbia, MO
Art in the Park festival, sponsored by Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO (repeat appearances)
KOPN Benefit House Concerts, KOPN studio, Columbia, MO (repeat appearances)
Hickory Ridge Concert Series, Lewiston, IL
Columbia Festival of the Arts, downtown Columbia, MO
Columbia Art League annual juried show, Columbia, MO (repeat performances)
Recordings with Val Goodrich, Anthony Clark, The Skirtlifters
New Coast Gallery House Concert, Reeds Spring, MO
Dinner at Center Court, Mizzou Arena, UMC, Columbia, MO (private event)