Ronald Thomas was gifted his first violin at the age of four and by 20 he was considered one of the best violinists in the world.

His talent took him from a farm in the dusty WA Wheatbelt town of Kulin to the global stage, earning placements on big-budget Hollywood soundtracks and sharing a studio with the biggest band of all time — The Beatles.

His success story was born from humble roots.

"I started to play actually before I had a violin with a butter pat — which is a thing they used to make butter square — and a wooden spoon," Thomas said.

Music was in the family genes. His father was a trained musician who played violin at silent film screenings and his mother was a talented pianist, and both encouraged young Ronald to follow his musical heart.

Ronald Thomas was gifted his first violin at age four. ( Supplied: Ronald Thomas )

"[My father] was very keen that I should have the chance that he didn't get … because he loved the instrument," he said.

Thomas's skills were soon being recognised at talent shows in Perth, where he occasionally found himself in a field of one at just 11 years of age.

"I can remember I played in the open eisteddfod, open to any age, and I was the only entry for it here in the town hall and the adjudicator very kindly said, 'we'll still give you first prize!" he recalled.

Thomas then moved overseas where he led several English orchestras and won the coveted Carl Flesch medal at the age of just 21.

He went on to play with or lead the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Academy of St Martin-In-The-Fields, the Bournemouth Chamber Orchestra and many more, including in Australia."

From outback roads to Abbey Road

It was in the UK where Thomas had the chance to play for The Beatles.

His work can be heard on the songs Glass Onion and Piggies on The White Album.

"Sometimes you'd see maybe one of The Beatles, or maybe two, listen or doing a track say with guitar or drums," Thomas said.

"Very often it was drums and percussion and adding strings onto it."

He became used to being paid cash in hand by record labels for his services.

"If you came in and did a backing session for a recording, you were paid on the spot, you didn't get an agreement where you see so many per cent of the record," he said.

"You were paid in cash which was lovely — everybody lined up at the end, sometimes a hundred musicians who were playing."

Ronald Thomas has lost count of how many Hollywood studio sessions he participated in. ( Supplied: Ronald Thomas )

There were many other sessions for various artists, including Paul McCartney in his solo career.

"There was a whole era of people, and I was one of them, who really spent their life doing recording sessions — I can remember doing three sessions a day sometimes," he said.

Hollywood beckons

The studio work expanded into recording sessions for films including Amadeus, Batman, and even Star Wars.

"We did Out Of Africa, Bond films, maybe an early Star Wars, maybe French Lieutenant's Woman — there were a lot of films around that time," Thomas said.

"I feel quite tired when I start reading about it actually, I thought where did I get the energy from? But I had a drive and an urge to want to do it.

"As a professional musician, you have to work hard to have a roof over your head, to eat and have a living."

Ronald Thomas was regarded one of the world's best violinists at a young age. ( ABC News: Hugh Sando )

Thomas said he used the time between takes to practice crafting his own music.

In contrast to sessions for pop or rock songs, classical music recordings usually took place after multiple successful performances on the road.

Those recordings only occurred after the music was "in the bloodstream", as Thomas put it, his favourites being with the Bournemouth Orchestra.

Playing at a house party near you

Finally settling back in Perth, Thomas has devoted his time to the West Australian String Quartet.

The quartet plays everywhere from backyard parties to theatres, and planned to take its works to regional and rural WA towns next year, in recognition of Thomas's country origins.

Perth Symphony Orchestra founder and quartet member Bourby Webster described Thomas as a beautiful gentleman.

Ronald Thomas is back in Perth to perform with the West Australian String Quartet. ( ABC News: Hugh Sando )

"Every rehearsal is a little bit like story time. Out of his mouth come stories of playing Wigmore Hall in London or Carnegie Hall in the US, or 'when I played with the South American symphony orchestra doing this' — it's mind blowing," he said.

"The fact that he started playing violin on a farm in the Wheatbelt to me is just incredible.

"He is living proof that if you're passionate about something it actually has no bearing where you've come from."

Thomas said his next task would be to publish stories from his extraordinary life in a book.