The Music Thief
Thomas Wheeler a.k.a. The Music Thief (b. 1995) is a guitar arranger, pedagogue, and visionary. Thomas believes in the importance of guitar arranging, applying it to every facet of his work. He created the largest guitar arrangement of the 21st century, Gustav Holst’s The Planets Suite for solo guitar. The UK-based Holst Society says, “Wheeler has in a sense re-imagined Holst’s score…His transcription and playing work at a deeper and to my mind a more powerful level. He deserves a wide audience.” As an advocate for diversifying the guitar repertoire, he made first-of-their-kind arrangements of music by Florence Price, Henry Cowell, and Alfred Schnittke. An avid multi-instrumentalist, Thomas is redefining the guitar quartet with the creation of a new plucked string quartet that plays his electronic music arrangements on acoustic instruments. He has many arrangements of baroque lute music, even some for harp guitar. Thomas also uses arranging to create community and pedagogical resources. He has arranged music for free-to-the-public guitar orchestras, private and community music schools, and the prestigious Romero Institute. Currently a co-host on the Guitar Arrangers Podcast, he leads an online community called the Guitar Arrangers’ Collective.
