Eric S. Thomas

Assistant Professor of Voice, and Director of Opera & Musical Theater

E-mail: eric.thomas@houghton.edu
Phone: 585.567.9400

Born in Cobleskille, New York, Eric Thomas grew up in Washington, Pennsylvania. A powerful, dramatic baritone, he has won high praise from critics and conductors alike as he has developed an impressive list of operatic roles. Dr. Thomas is the Director of Opera & Musical Theatre at the Greatbatch School of Music, Houghton College, where he also directs the men’s choral group Mannerchor and teaches applied voice at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Equally active in the world of oratorio, he recently sang the baritone soli in Carmina Burana with the Czech National Symphony in Prague, and the role of Escamillo in Carmen in New Jersey. An avid performer of new opera, he sang the New York City premieres of A Chekhov Trilogy and the title role in Tartuffe. He participated in the world premieres of Modern Painters, The Village, Moby Dick, and Twelfth Night. He has performed in opera, recitals and concerts throughout the United States and in Europe.

Dr. Thomas has also recently established himself as an emerging, classically oriented, Christian artist and is frequently invited to speak and sing for a variety of church groups. He and his wife, Kathy, came to Houghton from the music staff of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, where the late Dr. D. James Kennedy was the Senior Pastor. Dr. Thomas was ordained a deacon there in 2005. They have both been seen frequently on the internationally broadcast Coral Ridge Hour television program.

A veteran of the Sarasota and Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist Programs and The Pittsburgh Opera Center, Dr. Thomas has received grants and awards from: The Anna Case Mackay Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The Helen Jepson Dellara Foundation, and The William Matheus Sullivan Musical Foundation. He is a founding member of Opera Ovations of New York. He holds a BA in Music Education from West Liberty State College, a Master of Arts degree in Choral Conducting, and recently received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance at the University of Miami. His dissertation on the vocal music of American composer Kenneth Mahy was published in 2008.

Courses: Applied Voice, Singing: Preparation, Techniques & Resources, Männerchor, Opera Theater