Join us in celebrating 26 years of service to the Cleveland and surrounding areas, nationally and internationally.
About the Founder/Executive Director
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JERRY W. THOMAS
Jerry Thomas is not a new name in gospel music. Among his many accomplishments, he is currently Director of Music at Providence Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio and Executive Director of the Christian Music Academy.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio Mr. Thomas grew up in Los Angeles, California. After college, where Jerry studied architectural engineering, and music business, he returned to Cleveland in 1969 because of the wealth of talent in the Mid-East and East Coast areas. After a few years, Jerry spent a year in the New Jersey/New York areas where he was offered a recording contract with Savoy Records. But the Lord had different plans for him. He returned to Cleveland in 1973 where he resumed his music ministry. He continued to work in local churches as well as organized two well-known singing ensembles, The Gospel Experience and the Glories of Gospel.
After being inspired by the work being done in the Edwin Hawkins Music & Arts Seminar in 1979, Jerry found that he had an even greater task ahead. For, with the piano in his living room, a rubber stamp, blank envelopes, and curriculum information, Jerry Thomas, with a little help from his friends and thirteen (13) new students founded the CHRISTIAN MUSIC ACADEMY.
The Academy is designed to serve the full music needs of people interested in music, and is emerging as one of the finest music training centers in the nation. The Academy has served over 14,000 students in twenty-six (26) years and now boasts two (2) main locations in Europe with several extensions planned for the near future.
As the needs of the community have changed, the Christian Music Academy has continued to broaden its base of operation. In addition to the Academy, Mr. Thomas owned the CMC Outlet Stores, which featured the largest selections of black gospel music, records, tapes, CD’s and accessories in the Northeast Ohio area!
For the past twenty-one (21) years, Jerry has traveled back and forth to Europe working with distributors, record companies, promoters and artists to increase the awareness of gospel music. In 1989 he helped start a gospel music organization in England. Gospel Music & Arts United Kingdom has been chartered by the British government as a vehicle to help perpetuate black gospel music, its history and heritage through education using gospel music workshops, concerts, and recordings to name a few.
Jerry is a clinician/advisor for the Stockholm Gospel Choir Fest since 1989 and has developed a reciprocal relationship with many gospel artists and musicians in Europe! More recently he has helped organize, and is the cofounder of the Krefeld Music Festival in Krefeld, Germany and for fifteen years has traveled to numerous countries including the Middle East, spreading the gospel in song. In 2002 he organized a new gospel choir festival in Koln (Cologne), Germany with his partner, Angelica Rehaag.
Considering the accomplishments of Mr. Thomas, one can see why he has earned respect within the gospel music industry as one of the most complex composers, producers and artists of our time. Over the past thirty-six (36) years, he has produced and arranged numerous albums and has worked with some of the most respected gospel artists in the business!
In 1994, Mr. Thomas was honored in Who’s Who World-Wide for his leadership and contribution in the music business. Mr. Thomas has traveled around the world spreading the gospel in song through concerts, workshops and music festivals. He is in demand as a clinician, lecturer and spokesman for the gospel music industry. He has received numerous awards and citations for his outstanding performances and contributions in the gospel music industry. Mr. Thomas has exemplified dedication towards a commitment of excellence in everything that his hands find to do as he strives to serve God through his talents.
