Indiana Piano Player Lives by His Own Tune

Ludwig van Beethoven once said, "I wish you music to help with the burdens of life, and to help you release your happiness to others." Those words do well in capturing the spirit of one of Indiana's most talented pianists. I speak of Mr. Joe Thomas from Roanoke, Indiana. He's a brilliant man who also happens to be a fantastic musician.

Joe Thomas was born in Huntington, Indiana in 1946 and began his love of performing in front of a crowd with his very first audience at the youthful age of 4. He also is well versed with the saxophone, the clarinet, and drums. But, the piano is his true love. He attained his education at Ball State University where he graduated as a music and mathematics major.

Along the way he met a pretty girl named Leona Bear in the early 1950's when he was just a boy. Over the years the two kept in touch. In 1993 Joe and Leona began dating and in 1993 were married. Joe has two sons, Scott and Jason, from a previous marriage. Scott a chemist and Jason is a computer technician. Both have toyed with instruments, but not very seriously.

Even though Joe suffered from a stroke in the late 1990's that forced him into a month of recovery time, Joe says it didn't slow him down one bit. As a matter of fact, he told me he's playing more now than he did before the stroke.

Joe has played for a variety of venues and a diverse audience. These include private parties, lounges, clubs, church programs, birthday parties, alumni banquets, various types of anniversaries, industrial events, reunions of all types, and Christmas parties. Joe has also performed at local fairs including the Roanoke Fall Festival, the Bluffton Street Fair, and the Grabill County Fair. Joe also plays for local retirement homes throughout Indiana.

With many years of learning and performing pieces of music from the 19^th and 20^th centuries, and everyone from Franz Schubert to Andrew Lloyd Webber, he says it's difficult to say how many songs he knows. But he did tell me his favorite piece to perform is the 'Phantom of the Opera'.