Music & the Spoken Word with Guest Conductor André J. Thomas

André J. Thomas, Associate Artist with the London Symphony Orchestra, is one of the most respected choral musicians of his generation. He is Professor Emeritus of Music at Florida State University, where he taught for decades, and from 2020–2022 served as Visiting Professor of Choral Conducting at Yale University. His early training took him from Friends University (B.A.) to Northwestern University (M.M.) and the University of Illinois (D.M.A.).

Renowned as a conductor, Dr. Thomas has inspired choirs and audiences on six continents. He has led Honor and All-State Choirs across the United States, appeared at national conventions of NAfME and ACDA, and worked with the World Youth Choir in China, the Philippines, and Europe. With the Florida State University Singers, he conducted the first-ever performance by an American choir in Vietnam. For over three decades he also shaped the musical life of his own community as Artistic Director of the Tallahassee Community Chorus.

Alongside his conducting career, Dr. Thomas is a celebrated composer and arranger, with works published by many of the leading music publishers. His book, Way Over in Beulah Lan’: Understanding and Performing the Negro Spiritual, has become an essential resource for performers and scholars.

Dr. Thomas’s artistry and leadership have been recognized with many of the profession’s highest honors, including Chorus America’s Distinguished Service Award, the Robert Shaw Award from ACDA, the Lifetime Achievement Award from NCCO, induction into the Florida Music Educators Hall of Fame, and the Samuel Simons Sanford Medal from Yale University. In 2025, Florida State University awarded him the Torch Award.

A Past President of Florida ACDA, the Southern Division of ACDA, and National ACDA, Dr. Thomas continues to inspire singers, conductors, and audiences worldwide with his musicianship, scholarship, and vision.