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"Thomas conjured a wonderfully rich world from his instrument in this spell-binding concert. Anyone interested in the best of what's being written for the contemporary guitar should seek out Alan Thomas, who exudes confidence and pleasure in his inspired playing and repertoire."
Classical Guitar magazine (England)

Alan Thomas was born in Atlanta, and completed his guitar studies with Ernesto Bitetti and Scott Tennant. While still a student, he won top-prizes in the MTNA, American Artistic Ambassador and Guitar Foundation of America competitions. Moving to England in 1997, he quickly established himself as one of Europe's foremost new music soloists and ensemble players following his first-prize win at the International Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition in Holland (becoming the only guitarist ever to take the top prize). Since then he has pursued an active career as a recitalist and concerto soloist, performing throughout the U.K., Europe and the USA, both in concert series and international festivals.

His performances have been frequently broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Radio France, as well as on television and radio throughout Europe and the United States. He has recorded over twenty solo and ensemble CDs on the Accord, Metier, NMC, Matchless Records and Vivi Records labels, including a recent 2-CD set of his arrangements of Lennon/McCartney compositions, The Long and Winding Road. He has also formed notable collaborations with the soprano Juliet Fraser, violinist David Alberman, clarnettist Andrew Sparling and mezzo-soprano Juliette Pochin.

Particularly dedicated to contemporary music, Alan Thomas has given world premières of over forty works written especially for him by Ed Bennett, Laurence Crane, Gabriel Erkoreka, Michael Finnissy, Christopher Fox, Bryn Harrison, Evis Sammoutis, Graham Fitkin and others. He has also performed and recorded on classical and electric guitars, mandolin and banjo with many of the world's leading contemporary music groups, including the Graham Fitkin Band, the Nieuw Ensemble, Apartment House, Ensemble Exposé, Endymion, Gemini, Topologies, Lontano, Ensemble Corrente and Ixion. In recognition of his achievements in the contemporary solo arena, he was recently invited by Rolf Hind to play a recital for the spnm's prestigious "Solo Spotlights" series.

In addition to teaching masterclasses at conservatoires and festivals throughout the world, Alan has taught at the University of California and Trinity College of Music, and is currently on the music faculties of the University of York and Loughborough Music School. He is an external examiner at the University of Huddersfield, and is regularly invited to sit on performance and composition competition juries. (He also does a limited amount of private teaching of guitar, composition and theory--click for more info)

Alan is also active as a composer, focussing on solo and ensemble works for guitar. His pieces have been performed at festivals including Soundwaves (Brighton), Bath Guitar Festival, Chester Festival, American National Flute Association, Adur Festival, Guitar Art (Serbia) and the Beijing Festival. Recent commissions include pieces for the Cavatina Duo and the British BMG Federation. In 2010 he was featured composer at the Guitar Art Festival, where the Cavatina Duo premiered his Concerto for Flute and Guitar. For more details please visit the compositions page.

Festival Performances of Alan's Compositions
Soundwaves Festival (UK)
Bath Guitar Festival (UK)
SPNM "Solo Spotlights" series (UK) 
Beijing Festival (China)
Guitar Plus concert series (New York, USA)
Long Island Guitar Festival (USA)
American National Flute Association (USA)
Birmingham Artsfest (UK)
Chester Festival (UK)
Adur Arts Festival (UK)
Guitar Art Festival (Serbia)

Festival Appearances     
BBC Proms (UK) 
Aldeburgh (UK) 
Brighton (UK) 
Bath Guitar Festival (UK) 
Output Festival (NL) 
ISCM (UK) 
Spitalfields (UK) 
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (UK) 
Rotterdam Biennial (NL) 
New Music Nights (Slovakia)
American Music Week (Bulgaria) 
Electric Spring (UK) 
Gaudeamus Festival (NL) 
Ultima (Norway) 
GAS (Sweden) 
Witten New Music Days (Germany) 
Berlin Festival (Germany) 
Oxford Contemporary Music (UK) 
BMIC "Cutting Edge" series   
Voix Nouvelles (France) 
Hoxton (UK) 
Guitar Foundation of America (USA) 
Zwolle Guitar Festival (NL)
Cheltenham Festival (UK)
York Late Music Festival
SPNM "Solo Spotlights" series (UK) 
Exeter Festival (UK)
November Music (NL)

Performed/Recorded with: 
Fitkin
Endymion 
Apartment House    
Ensemble Expose 
Lontano 
Nieuw Ensemble
Ixion 
Black Hair
London Steve Reich Ensemble
Topologies 
Capella Amsterdam 
Almeida Opera Ensemble   
Exaudi 
Scottish Flute Trio 
Ensemble Corrente
New London Chamber Choir 
Backbeat Percussion Quartet  
David Alberman (violin)    
Michael Finnissy (piano)
Juliet Fraser (soprano)   
Juliette Pochin (mezzo-soprano)
Andrew Sparling (clarinet) 
Rowland Sutherland (flute)

Concerto Appearances
The Nieuw Ensemble 
Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Leicestershire Sinfonia 
Ensemble Exposé
Kantak
Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra
University of Leicester Sinfonia

Selected World Premieres Given 
Ed Bennett: My Broken Guitar  | spnm "solo spotlights" | 06
Derek Bermel: Elektrokosmos  | Output Festival | 07
Willem Boogman: Genieting IV  | Output Festival | 07
Donald Bousted: Solo for Elisabeth  | spnm "Solo Spotlights" | 07
Laurence Crane: Bobby J. | Modern Britain Series | 99
Laurence Crane: Some Rock Music for Alan Thomas | Rational Rec | 08
Laurence Crane: John White in Berlin | Berlin Festival | 03
Paul Davies: Ciacconna 21 | Electric Spring Festival |
Gabriel Erkoreka: Jukal (guitar concerto) | Nieuw Ensemble, Netherlands | 
Gabriel Erkoreka: Fantasia | Dartington College | 01
Michael Finnissy: Casual Nudity | BMIC Cutting Edge tour | 01
Michael Finnissy: Medea | Adur Arts Festival | 08
Michael Finnissy: Yob Kultcha | Rational Rec New Music | 08
Graham Fitkin: numerous premieres with the Fitkin Band
Christopher Fox: The Grain of Abstraction | Electric Spring Festival |
Christopher Fox: Zone | BBC Invitation Concert |
Don Freund: Stirrings | Indiana University | 95
John Habron: The World's Flow  | Soundwaves Festival | 08
Bryn Harrison: Return | Kettle's Yard New Music Series | 05
Bryn Harrison: Four Parts to Centre |
Nigel Morgan: Preludes | Electric Spring Festival |
Nigel Morgan: Continuum | Manchester Met. Univ. | 07
Petros Ovsepyan: Now the Shadow of the pillar... | Univ. of California, SD | 
Petros Ovsepyan: The C of Love (flute and guitar version) | Sofia, Bulgaria
Alwynne Pritchard: Nostos ou Topos | BMIC Cutting Edge Series | 00
Evis Sammoutis: Alter Ego I | Hellenic Centre, London | 07
Phil Venables: Time Stands Still  | Soundwaves Festival | 08
James Weeks: Schilderkonst | London | 07

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