Thomas Paul

Thomas Warburton Paul (born February 22, 1934) is an American bass and voice teacher who had an active performance career during the second half of the 20th century. Paul began his musical training as a child as a violinist and violist. He studied violin, viola, and conducting in both his undergraduate and graduate studies; earning a Bachelor of Arts from Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1956 before pursuing graduate work at the Juilliard School in 1956–57.

Paul's path reoriented towards singing when he became a member of the U.S. Army Chorus in 1957; singing with the group for two years. That same year he was a soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra and Marilyn Horne as a fellow vocalist.

In 1962 Paul made his debut at the New York City Opera (NYCO) as Sparafucile in Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto. Zuniga in Carmen (1964), Colline in Giacomo Puccini's La bohème (1964), and Tiresias in Igor Stravinsky's Oedipus rex (1964). He also sang the latter role with the New York Philharmonic in 1966 with Shirley Verrett as Jocasta. Paul notably portrayed Tolomeo in the NYCO's lauded 1971 production of Handel's Giulio Cesare; a production which turned Beverly Sills into an international superstar.

Paul performed in several productions with the San Francisco Opera in the 1960s, including the roles of the Speaker in Mozart's The Magic Flute (1963), Sparafucile in Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto (1963), Colline in Giacomo Puccini's La bohème (1964), and Nourabad in Georges Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles (1964). In 1964 he created the role of Jack Spaniard in the world premiere of Robert Ward's The Lady From Colorado at the Central City Opera. That same year he returned to Carnegie Hall to portray Daniel Webster in Virgil Thomson's The Mother of Us All with the American Opera Society, was the bass soloist in both Bach's Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen, BWV 43 and Schubert's Mass No. 6 in E flat with the Musica Aeterna Orchestra and conductor Frederic Waldman at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and was heard again in the Mass in B minor, this time with the Masterwork Chorus and conductor David Randolph at Lincoln Center's Philharmonic Hall.

Paul is the bass soloist in The Cleveland Orchestra's 1961 recording of Beethoven's Missa solemnis, and in the Robert Shaw Chorale's 1966 recording of Handel's Messiah; both made for RCA Victor with conductor Robert Shaw. He was also the bass soloist in the Philadelphia Orchestra's 1970 recording of Bach's St John Passion with Eugene Ormandy conducting. On July 19, 1968 he was a soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the grand opening of the Blossom Music Center with soprano Phyllis Curtin, mezzo Jane Hobson, tenor Ernst Haefliger, conductor George Szell and The Cleveland Orchestra. He performed with that orchestra again in 1970 as Friar Lawrence in Hector Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette with tenor George Shirley, mezzo Anna Reynolds, and conductor Pierre Boulez. In 1973 he portrayed Polyphemus in Handel's Acis and Galatea at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival.

In 1976 Paul portrayed Jared Bilby in the world premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Bilby's Doll at the Houston Grand Opera. The concert and composition was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. They were both nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards (1991) for their performance on the Juilliard String Quartet's 1990 recording of Joseph Haydn's The Seven Last Words of Christ. In 1981 he starred in Rossini's Mosè in Egitto with the Opera Company of Philadelphia. From 1981-1986 he performed regularly with the Bach Aria Group. In 1986 he returned to the San Francisco Opera as Le Comte des Grieux in Jules Massenet's Manon with Sheri Greenawald in the title role. That same year he performed the role of Arkel in Claude Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande in a concert version of the opera with the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Dennis Russell Davies.

In 1993 Paul was the bass soloist in the world premiere of Bernard Rands's Canti dell'Eclisse which he performed and recorded with the Philadelphia Orchestra under conductor Gerard Schwarz. In 1995 he was a featured performer in a concert of the works of composer Amy Beach at Alice Tully Hall. In 1994 he was a featured soloist at the Shenyang International Music Festival in China. In 1996 he performed the role of Le Bailli in the Washington National Opera's production of Jules Massenet's Werther. In 1997 he performed the role of Rocco in a concert version of Beethoven's Fidelio with The New Haven Symphony and Chorale at Yale University.

Teaching career In 1970 Paul joined the voice faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and School; a position he maintained for more than a decade. His work at Aspen included both teaching as well as performing, and he enjoyed his experience doing both so much that he decided to pursue a career as a music educator while maintaining his performance career. He was a full time professor at Eastman until his retirement in 1998.