Thomas Bandar joins the Concordia College faculty as Visiting Instructor of Viola and Violin. An accomplished violist, educator, and arts executive, Bandar also serves as the Executive and Artistic Director of Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival. He has held additional leadership roles at the Aspen Music Festival and School and the Curtis Institute of Music, where he served as Associate Dean.
As an educator, Bandar has served on the faculty of Texas Lutheran University and been a clinician and guest artist at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, University of Texas-Austin, Gonzaga University, and Eastern Washington University. A dedicated chamber musician, he has taught with the Austin Chamber Music Center and California Summer Music, and founded and directed chamber music programs for Youth Music Monterey and the Holy Names Music Center. During the summer months, he serves on the faculty at Lutheran Summer Music, where he teaches viola and chamber music, and regularly performs on the recital series.
A distinguished violist, Bandar began his career with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra and has since performed with the Delaware Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Aspen Chamber Symphony, Cleveland Opera Orchestra, and the Minnesota Opera Orchestra. He has served as a faculty member at the Crested Butte Music Festival and performed in recitals across the country, including appearances with Curtis on Tour, the Curtis Institute of Music’s signature touring initiative.
Bandar holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of Denver, with additional studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Aspen Music Festival and School.