Thomas Walker, Jr. started classical guitar lessons at age 10. Not long thereafter he became interested in the 12-string guitar stylings of Leo Kottke and spent much of the next decade playing and composing in that style. Realizing that Leo was and is sui generis, he returned to classical music in college, studying both classical guitar and music theory. Theory classes provided his first introduction to the earlier musical vocabulary of counterpoint. After college, he studied jazz guitar independently, but was increasingly captivated by early music, particularly polyphony. He bought his first lute in 1992 and began studies with Phillip Rukavina not long thereafter. Since then Thomas has performed with Phillip, Ensemble Polaris, Consortium Carissimi, the Rose Ensemble, and the Venere Lute Quartet, as well as with lutenists Paul Berget and Edward Martin. He has several recordings, Due, Stile Moderno, Courante, and La Superbe, available thru streaming services, and all except Due are available for lossless download through Magnatune.
