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The American baritone, obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in Voice and Opera from the Juilliard School of Music in New York (2014-2018), where he studied with Marlena Malas. Since August 2018, he is studying at the Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts. He In 2014, he was named a 2014 National YoungArts Finalist and would later be honored by President Barack Obama as a 2014 Presidential Scholar in the Arts. As a Presidential Scholar, he was a featured performer in a program entitled "A Salute to the 2014 Presidential Scholars", directed by award-winning director Bill T. Jones and performed at the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington D.C.
Hailed by the Boston Musical Intelligencer as a "miraculous...nuanced singer," Thomas West is a creative artist and entrepreneur whose work expands everything from brand new opera to cross-disciplinary collaboration. The 2015-2016 season brought about performances of Papageno in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Chautuauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. He also made his New York City recital debut at The National Opera Center with pianist Matthew Stephens. Other season highlights included performances with the New York Festival of Song, singing the role of Count Valerio in a concert production of The Voice of Ariadne by Thea Musgrave at Barnard College, and singing the USA Premiere of Dame Ethel Smyth's The Prison with Conductor Mark Shapiro and Cantori New York. In the summer of 2015, he was one of thirty-two young artists at Seagle Music Colony in Schroon Lake New York, where he made his role debut as Rapunzel's Prince in Sondheim's Into the Woods.
During the 2016-2017 season, Thomas West took on the title role of Billy Budd in a workshop version directed by 3 time Obie Award Winner Ain Gordon, and was the baritone soloist in Johannes Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Bill Wymond. Other highlights included a number of prominent Lincoln Center debuts including J.S. Bach's BWV 82: Ich Habe Genug with Juilliard Chamberfest in Peter Jay Sharp Theater and the world premiere of Wayne Oquin's Meditation in Alice Tully Hall.
West’s 2017-2018 season brought about his role debut as the Astrologer in Benjamin Britten's The Burning Fiery Furnace at The Juilliard School. In April 2018, Thomas West wrote and produced Rhizome: A Theatrical Recital which featured 23 artists across three different disciplines (actors, dancers, musicians), and was presented at The Juilliard School to great acclaim. West also portrayed the title role of Billy Bigelow in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel, in a new production conceived by Brooklyn based director John Giampietro at The Chautauqua Institution. Over the 2018 summer, he held a prestigious fellowship at the Tanglewood Music Center where projects included Leonard Bernstein's Opening Prayer with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra under the baton of BSO Assistant Conductor Yu-An Chang while also making his role debut as Bill in L. Bernstein's A Quiet Place. In June, he traveled to Avaloch Music Farm in Boscawen, New Hampshire where his interdisciplinary arts collective, Collaborative Arts Ensemble was in residence.
The 2018-2019 season brought a number of exciting debuts for Thomas West in the opera world. In October/November 2018, he spent two months as the cover for the role of Silvio in Pagliacci with Opera San Jose in San Jose, California. In March 2019, he traveled to Davenport, Iowa to sing with Chamber Music Quad Cities as part of a concert celebrating the NY Times Notable Author Nathan Hill and his book The Nix. He also made a return to Cantori New York under the direction of conductor Mark Shapiro for the New York premiere of Donald Grantham’s La Cancion Desesperada. His performance season wrapped up in April with a trip to Tennessee to sing the role of Morales in Georges Bizet's Carmen with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera. In addition to these performances, he was named the winner of the Kennett Symphony Voice Competition in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and was also a finalist in the 2019 editions of the Joy in Singing Competition in New York City and the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition in Oakland, California.
Thomas West’s 2019-2020 season kicks off in his return to the New York Festival of Song for its annual Orient, NY residency in a program called Ports of Call. In September, he travels home to Chattanooga to work with long-time collaborator Tim Hinck on a performance of scenes from his most recent opera Eve Apart. December brings him to Winnipeg, Canada for his debut with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in a concert of all J.S. Bach vocal music alongside renowned soprano Karina Gauvin. Other exciting 2019-2020 performances are currently in the works and will be announced shortly!
Thomas West is also an NPR's "From the Top" alum, having appeared on the show in both 2012 and 2014 and was recently awarded the From the Top Alumni Leadership Grant for his commitment to being a citizen-artist.
Thomas West is a dedicated arts leader and creative producer. In 2013 he founded ReGenerate, an arts leadership program for high school students dedicated to advocating and fundraising for the arts in the public schools of Chattanooga. The program now in its 5th year, is comprised of 28 sophomores and juniors representing 14 different area high schools. The program ReGenerate was a result of Mr. West's initial project entitled "Let Beauty Awaken," a CD fundraiser and benefit concert that raised almost 16,000 dollars for arts education in Hamilton County. More recently, West was one of the leaders behind OperaComp, a workshop for brand new opera scenes designed to give the modern day singer and composer opportunity to collaborate. The inaugural workshop and performances took place in New York City in March 2017 and just concluded its second season at National Sawdust (Brooklyn) in April 2018. His newest project, Collaborative Arts Ensemble, a cross-disciplinary roster of artists dedicated to exploring social issues in concert performance is making waves in the concert world for its innovative programming and unique platform for its artists. |
