Biography
Dr. Thomas FitzStephens holds a Bachelor of Choral Music Education from The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, a Master of Music in Conducting from Michigan State University’s College of Music, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Music Teaching and Learning from Georgia State University. He studied conducting with Dr. Jerry Blackstone, Dr. Sandra Snow, Dr. Jonathan Reed, and Dr. David Rayl, and voice with George Irving Shirley and Molly Fillmore.
Dr. FitzStephens currently serves as Assistant Professor, Director of Choral Activities and Music Education, at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia. He also serves as Music Director of Harmonia Atlanta, and as Choir Director at Oakhurst Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia. Prior to CSU, Dr. FitzStephens served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Oglethorpe University and taught middle and high school music for seventeen years. For a decade he served as Vocal Music Director at the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program at Berry College, working with Georgia’s most gifted high school students.
Education
Teaching Interest
Research Interest
Dr. FitzStephens is interested in researching quality teaching that inspires lifelong learning. Dr. FitzStephens’s writing is published in Visions of Research in Music Education, Teaching Music magazine, and his dissertation, Why do Adults Sing? The Impact of the High School Experience, is available in ScholarWorks. He has presented at state and international music education conventions.
