BSC professor nominated for 2022 GRAMMY Award
Published: Dec 09 2021
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Dr. Jason Thoms, Bismarck State College (BSC) assistant professor of music, has been nominated for a 2022 GRAMMY Award as a featured soloist in the choral ensemble of the Saint Tikhon Choir.
In the category of Best Choral Performance, the nomination is for the choir’s recording of Benedict Sheehan’s “Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.” The recording was released by Capella Records in 2020 and produced by GRAMMY Award winner Blanton Alspaugh and the Soundmirror engineering team. The choir was previously nominated for Best Choral Performance as one of four choirs who performed on the “Kastalsy Requiem” CD.
For over a decade, Thoms has been performing Orthodox choral music with various churches and professional ensembles. At BSC, Thoms teaches as well as conducts the Concert Choir and the Women’s Chamber Ensemble. He is also the founder and artistic director of Dakota Pro Musica, a chamber ensemble based in Bismarck.
Prior to BSC, Thoms was the director of choral activities and professor of music and humanities at Concordia College New York for 13 years before the school struggled financially and ultimately closed due to COVID-19. In addition to teaching, he has conducted choral ensembles in 49 states across the U.S., two Canadian provinces, Germany and Italy.
Thoms has been a member of the Saint Tikhon Choir since its creation in 2015 and has recorded five CDs with them. The choir, which is based out of Pennsylvania, comes together every May to give concerts and periodically records a CD. He is also a member of five other professional choirs around the country.
The “Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom” by Benedict Sheehan is available on Spotify and YouTube, and can be purchased on Amazon as a CD or Blu-ray Disc with selections from the premier performance and a full performance of the piece at the National Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, D.C. which was presided over by Metropolitan Tikhon (the Bishop of the Orthodox Church of America for North America).
Thoms and the BSC choirs will be featured in the BSC Holiday Concert on Wednesday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Sidney J. Auditorium on the BSC campus. He will also be directing Dakota Pro Musica’s Christmas concerts Dec. 17-19 in Jamestown, Mandan and Bismarck. The Bismarck Dakota Pro Musica performance includes many BSC students, alumni and faculty and will be presented in partnership with the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bismarck at 7 p.m. on Dec. 19.
The 64th GRAMMY’s Awards will air Monday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. CST on CBS.