Tea King English clarinetist and music teacher. Country: Great Britain

1. Biography of Thea King
2. Career as a Performer
3. Career as an Educator

Biography of Thea King

Thea King (26 December 1925 - 26 June 2007) was an English clarinetist and music educator. She was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. King initially studied at the Royal College of Music as a pianist, but she later chose the clarinet as her second instrument. However, the influence of her clarinet teacher, Frederick Thurston, was so significant that King gradually shifted her focus entirely to the clarinet. She assisted Thurston in his class and married him in January 1953, less than a year before his death from cancer. King never remarried.

Career as a Performer

As a performer, Thea King preferred various chamber ensembles. In 1953, she was part of the original lineup of the Portia Wind Ensemble, founded by Ruth Gipps, and performed with the group for 13 years. From 1955 to 1973, she played in the London Mozart Players, a chamber orchestra focused on Mozart's works. In 1964, King became the principal clarinetist of the English Chamber Orchestra and continued to participate in the orchestra's performances until 1999. At the same time, King frequently performed pieces by contemporary British composers. She also maintained her connection with the piano, accompanying clarinetists in a memorial concert for her late husband in 2001. One of her notable recordings for the BBC includes Felix Mendelssohn's Concert Piece (op.114) for clarinet, basset horn, and piano, in which King performed all three parts.

Career as an Educator

From 1961 to 1987, Thea King taught at the Royal College of Music, and starting in 1988, she taught at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Many of the leading clarinetists in the United Kingdom were her students.