Ben Thomas is a native of
Chepstow, where he came from a musical family, his father Austin Thomas being
the long serving organist of St Mary’s Priory Church, and a prominent music
teacher. Ben started to learn the piano at 4, but gave up in disgust and began
to teach himself the violin at 10, later studying with the Polish musician
Kasimierz Hardulak.
After graduating in
Modern Languages at Cardiff, he swapped to Social Sciences and became a Child
Welfare Officer in South Wales and Surrey. After lectureships in Social work in
Hertfordshire and the then Lanchester Polytechnic at Coventry (where he played
violin with the Warwickshire S.O.) he came to Wrexham in 1976 to help develop
Social Work courses at NEWI/Cartrefle. He played violin with Wrexham Orchestra
from then until moving to horn in 1993, having studied the instrument with Ron
Cox at Oswestry.
Ben had the distinction
of being dropped on his head at the age of one by the seven-year-old (later
Sir) James Loughran. It is said he yelled melodiously.
January 2001