Bio

Denton Lanakila Thomas is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in trombone performance from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia (BMA, cum laude) and the University of Texas at Austin (MM). His principal teachers have been Dr. Nathaniel Brickens and Dr. Troy Marsh.

Mr. Thomas teaches university trombone lessons, instructs individual and sectional trombone & brass at the McCallum Fine Arts and James Bowie High Schools, and conducts the Bowie Trombone Choir. As a doctoral teaching assistant, Mr. Thomas arranges for and performs with the UT Trombone Choir. He also composes for and performs with the Texas Brass Company, a ceremonial and outreach quintet which appeared before Bill Clinton in May 2006.

As a member of Austin’s music community, Mr. Thomas performs with Rick White's 'Monster Big Band,' one of the most active jazz ensembles in the self-proclaimed Live Music Capital of the World. He has also appeared with the Jim Widner Big Band alongside trombonist Paul McKee and pianist Shelly Berg, and has previously worked and performed at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, the Texas Music Festival in Houston, and the University of Missouri Summer Band Institute.

Over the last three winters, Mr. Thomas’ work in Australia has included performances with the Grainger Wind Symphony, the Esstee Big Band, secondary-level masterclasses and instruction, and a lecture on low-brass pedagogy at the ABODA-aMuse 'Sounds Great' Conference on Excellence in Education.

Mr. Thomas is an alumnus of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and a member of Pi Kappa Lambda.