Peter Thomsen

Voice Teacher

Peter W. Thomsen was raised in Nyack, a suburb of New York City.  While there, he played drums with his friend Rupert Holmes, now famous for the Pina Colada song and the Broadway musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  Peter Thomsen received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Crane School of Music in New York.  While in northern New York, he played with another great New York band, Double Axel.

Mr. Thomsen is a professional singer, guitarist, keyboardist and percussionist.  He can be seen locally performing with his wife, Abby, and with Dave Brinnel.  Mr. Thomsen is also a private vocal coach, voice teacher and recording engineer.  He offers voice lessons in his Longmeadow studio, as well as internationally on line.  In recent years he has taught at Shenandoah Conservatory with Jeanette LoVetri of New York City and is a certified teacher of Somatic Voicework, The LoVetri Method.  Many of the groups and artists with which he works, like Aaron Lewis, Brynn Cartelli and Meghann Fahy, are performing and recording professionally on Broadway, in theater and on TV.  Mr. Thomsen served as the first Coordinator of Music grades K-12 for the for the Longmeadow Public Schools, as well as Chairman of Fine Arts at Longmeadow High School for many years.  The Longmeadow Music Department grew to represent more than 50% of the student body and won three Grammy Awards from the National Association of Recording Artists during his tenure.  His ensembles traveled to perform at Carnegie Hall, Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, as well as in Montreal, Italy, Germany, Austria and Hungary and won great recognition for their artistry.  He has taught vocal music and music technology at many colleges and universities in Massachusetts.  Mr. Thomsen is often sought after as an adjudicator, clinician and guest conductor for festivals and conferences.  The Massachusetts Music Education Association presented Mr. Thomsen with the “Lowell Mason Award” for outstanding contributions to music education, and in 2008 he was recognized for his work as a teacher and educational leader by the Massachusetts House of Representatives.  He currently serves as Vice President of Programming and Education for the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.  He serves on the Board of Directors for The Wilbraham Nature and Cultural Center and is a member of The Longmeadow Cultural Council.  He maintains active memberships in the American Choral Directors Association and the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association.  Mr. Thomsen lives in Longmeadow with his wife, Abby.