José Tomás

José Tomás Pérez Selles (26^th August,1934 - 7^th August, 2001), was a Spanish classical guitarist and teacher.

=Biography=

José Tomás done his musical studies with Oscar Esplá, transcribing more ahead for guitar his work “Levante", discovering the “Sonata” (only work of Esplá for guitar) and being during two decades companions in the Conservatory of Alicante, that indeed took the name of “Oscar Esplá”.

It begins the studies of guitar like self-taught person; soon he continues with Regino Sainz de la Maza in Madrid and Alirio Diaz recommends him to frequent the courses of Andrés Segovia in Siena.

He continues his formation with Segovia in “Music in Compostela” in 1958 and 1959.

Also he receives lessons from Emilio Pujol. In 1961 Andrés Segovia” in the Aid of Ourense gains the prize “. Since then he dedicates himself mainly to the education, been in his native city, where he directs to the chair of guitar in the Conservatory “Oscar Esplá”; he replaces to Andrés Segovia in “Music in Compostela” from 1964 to finalizing the Seventies; and constantly he is solicitd to direct to courses and seminaries in all Europe, America, the Middle East, Japan, the Philippines, etc.

As concert performer, he had an enviable sound and great interpretation correction, but he is mainly in the pedagogical land where there is to emphasize his most valuable contribution to the guitar world: excellent professor, pragmatic, erudite and simultaneously humble, their courses are looked for by all the guitarists, and at his residence in Alicante executants arrive incessantly worldwide asking for their direction and his advices

Excellent transcriptor, his work in that land and investigation of baroque tablatures took him to adopt a guitar of eight cords, that specifically ordered to the constructor José Ramirez: the two additional cords of this guitar are one seventh sharpened in sharpened RE and one eighth in DO or FA, according to the interpretative necessities.