There is no music like live music. It’s a transcendent experience
Thomas A. Wright, Jr, the only child of Alease “Christy” Jordan Wright and Thomas Sr., was born in Bethesda, Maryland at the National Naval Medical Center (now known as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center). Fondly known as Tommy or Little Tommy, he attended elementary and middle schools in Montgomery County, MD, and high school in Prince George’s County, MD. He was baptized at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Baltimore, MD and made his First Communion at St. Bernardine Catholic Church in Baltimore where he also attended Sunday School, was confirmed, and participated in the youth choir.
Tommy began playing saxophone in fifth grade. However, he didn’t discover his love for music until his years in middle school, where at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in Germantown, MD, he came home with a baritone saxophone. The instrument was as tall as Tommy and his mother feared he would not take care of the $2,000 horn. But he did. In fact, he played it in the school’s jazz band. A few years later at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, MD, Tommy became a musician on multiple levels. He played clarinet in the pit orchestra for the senior plays; he qualified for the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band playing alto saxophone. He sang in the gospel choir under the direction of the great Dr. Barbara Baker. He scored a “1” in the Prince George’s County adjudicated solo festivals for both clarinet and saxophone, which assured him a grade of “A” for band class, and qualified him to be selected to the All-County Honors Band which performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He also won second place in the piano competition sponsored by the Bowie Music Teachers Association after just two years of piano lessons.
Music played a key role in Tommy’s life. His mother shared with friends that often she would come home from work and find several of Tommy’s music friends, of all ethnicities and backgrounds, scattered around the living room piano, practicing some element of their upcoming high school concert. Later, his mother found him discussing with different friends the formation of a vocal quartet. They called themselves VERS4, an acapella male quartet. They sang at his Grandma Wright’s home-going service where attendees were filled with wonderment and awe at their melodious sound. His mother tells the following story: “Tommy’s roommate in college asked me if I knew Tommy sang in his sleep. I shared that not only did he sleep-sing, walking with him in a mall would always be an experience. Oblivious to the mall traffic, he could bellow out notes that rang in your body.”
His love for music took him to the most prestigious college for black male students: Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. His high school experiences had earned him scholarship money if he would play in the marching band. Thomas earned section leader status for the band’s saxophone section. He successfully auditioned to sing with the world-renowned Morehouse College Glee Club. For spring break tours, Thomas was one of the Glee Club’s accompanists. Here is where the discipline for excellence took root under the direction of Mr. Morrow, now Dr. Morrow.
A few years after graduating from the college where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. received his bachelors degree, Thomas became an educator. He had found his passion. His love of music passed from him to the hundreds of students he taught. From Laurel, Maryland to parts of New York. From Laurel High School to Harlem Village Academy to Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, where “Mr. Wright’s” teaching philosophy, that grew out of his Morehouse experience, was key to the success of the student recitals and concerts he directed. Mr. Wright showcased his college roots by inviting the Morehouse College Glee Club to perform at Edward R. Murrow during their spring 2024 tour. He taught the high school choirs how to sing the Glee Club’s signature African song, Betelehemu, so that they could perform it with the Glee Club. The success of that collaboration sent vibrations beyond the auditorium, with currently more than 500 views online.
Thomas’ love for music and education inspired him to attend Teachers College at Columbia University in New York and receive a Master of Arts degree in music education. He sang in a sextet for the main graduation ceremony, and in a duet, performed for the graduates of color convocation. The Teachers College president was so impressed by these performances that he asked Thomas to teach him piano.
It wasn’t enough that Thomas was a great educator, vocalist and choral director, or that he proficiently played several instruments. His next level of interest was the pipe organ. He attached himself to renowned organists like Patrick Alston who was kind enough to play piano for one of the recitals directed by Mr. Wright at Laurel High School in Maryland. Thomas aspired to be as good as Patrick, and convinced him to teach him to play the pipe organ. With Patrick’s teaching and a few lessons at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Thomas added this highly sought-after ability to his skillset and was truly regarded as a master musician. Over the last 10 or so years, he has played the pipe organ at many churches in Maryland, Washington, DC and New York.
Thomas’ talents also included musical director at high school plays, coaching a vocal element of the famous Step-Afrika troupe, and performing as accompanist for several classical virtuosos in and outside the continental United States. Several years ago Tommy was commissioned by the Cauthorne-Brooks Family Reunion, his paternal great-grandmother’s descendants, to compose a family anthem, sung at each bi-annual gathering. And not long ago he sent a video tribute singing one of his favorite songs for his cousin’s church retirement. He never hesitated to give his best when asked to do something musically.
Because Thomas was so devoted to his craft, there weren’t too many opportunities for leisure time. But when he could make time, he loved traveling, especially to the Caribbean. Reading non-fiction was another pastime that often supported his strong position during intense debates with friends. Having learned how to ski when he was 4, Thomas found a few opportunities as an adult to go to the New York mountains to ski with colleagues.
It is often said that there is a date for when we are born and one for when we die. But what matters most is the dash between those two dates. Though Tommy lived just 49 years, his dash tells a grand story of a marvelous musical life. He amassed a resume so rich that he often didn’t believe how great he was. Just ask any of his musical friends or the students whose lives he changed. Or watch YouTube videos to see his work in action.
Mr. Wright, Thomas, Tommy, Little Tommy leaves behind broken-hearted parents, a step-mother, 93-year old Grandma Jordan, several aunts and uncles, a step-brother and bonus brother, a godson, an active godfather, generations of cousins, and a village filled with friends, choirs, bands, and students whose lives he touched, even for a moment. Let's remember him from the last time we saw him laughing loudly or smiling beautifully, playing the piano or organ at a church as he directed gospel choirs with his creative and long locks flowing down his spirit-filled back, his head swaying with the beat and his bass baritone voice bellowing out one of his favorite gospel songs. He was such a grand musician. He always had a song in his heart. Music was his greatest love. And now he performs with the angels on an even higher level.