Career
Born in Siem by Skørping in Northern Jutland, Thomsen was taught fiddle from age 7, and played to local dances already as a young boy. He began egan to collect tunes and instruments. He founded the Rebild Fiddlers, and the Rebild museum of Traditional music
In 1971 he was made national When the Folk revival movement came to Denmark in the 1970"es he became an icon of the living tradition of Danish fiddle music, and he gained national fame, appearing in radio and television
He also traveled Europe playing in Norway, the Faroe Islands, iceland, Scotland, Finland and Greenland, and in 1976 he toured the United States of America for a month. Together with other players from the first half of the 20th century like Æ Tinuser and Frederik Iversen, his versions make up the main stock of Danish traditional music
He is considered by many to be the single most important fiddler and promoter of Danish traditional music in the 20th century.