Philip J. Thomas

Philip James Thomas (March 26, 1921 – January 26, 2007) was a Canadian teacher, musician and folklorist.

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, he entered the RCAF near the outbreak of World War II. With the Air Force, he was engaged in development of Canada’s radar technology. He saw service in Europe and India. On his discharge, he returned to BC where he studied education at the University of British Columbia. His first teaching assignment in 1949 was in Pender Harbour, where through contact with local residents he developed an interest in folklore and storytelling through song.

In 1953 he was hired by the Vancouver School Board as an art teacher. He developed his own philosophy of children’s art education that “honoured the child and how the child makes art.” [ [http://www.rainshadowgallery.com/special/philip_james_thomas_obituary.htm "The Singing Was the Important Thing": Interview with Phil Thomas 1998] , Rainshadow Gallery Online] He co-founded the Vancouver Folk Song Circle (later the Vancouver Folk Song Society), which became a vehicle to collect additional material. Founded in 1959, the Song Circle is the oldest folk music society in Canada. His 1979 book, "Songs of the Pacific Northwest", is “of particular interest because it is the first sizeable collection of Canadian songs from anywhere west of Ontario”. [Edith Fowke, [http://cjtm.icaap.org/content/7/v7art5.html "Book Notes"] , "Canadian Journal for Traditional Music" 1979]

He played both guitar and banjo, and he and his wife Hilda (1928-2005) often performed together at folk festivals in British Columbia and western Canada.__NOTOC__

Publications

* "Cariboo Wagon Road 1858-1868" (1964)
* "Songs of the Pacific Northwest" (1979; second revised and expanded edition, 2006)
* "Twenty-Five Songs for Vancouver" 1886-1986 (1985)
* [http://cfmb.icaap.org/content/30.1/BV30-1art4.pdf "Both “Stanley G. Triggs”: A Recollection"] "Canadian Folklore Bulletin", 1996

Recordings

* "Phil Thomas and Friends: Live at Folklife Expo 86"
* "Where the Fraser River Flows"

Honours and awards

* G.A. Ferguson Prize, from the B.C. Teachers Federation
* Honorary Life Member of the B.C. Art Teachers Association
* Honorary President and Life Member of the Canadian Society for Traditional Music
* Marius Barbeau Award

External links

* [http://cjtm.icaap.org/content/4/v4art7.html Description of the P.J. Thomas Collection of British Columbia Folk Songs]
* [http://www.collectionscanada.ca/collectionsp-bin/colldisp/l=0/c=592 Philip J. Thomas Popular Song Collection (searchable database)]
* [http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0003406 Canadian Encyclopedia entry]

References

* [http://www.rainshadowgallery.com/special/philip_james_thomas_obituary.htm Obituary]
* [http://www.abcbookworld.com/?state=view_author&author_id=4393 BC Bookworld profile]