Born in Brooklyn, New York, Omar Thomas is a first-generation American born to Guyanese parents. Throughout his childhood, Thomas recalls music being played constantly in his household, from American soul and R&B, to Caribbean music styles such as Calipso and Raegae. Like many students in America, Thomas began playing an instrument, the trombone, in 4th grade, and participated in his schools marching band and choir programs. Drawn mainly to R&B and Jazz melodies and harmonies, he began composing in the 8th grade, leading him to eventually pursue Jazz composition at the New England Conservatory of Music.
Thomas is influenced from the musical styles that he grew up with, and focuses on using them to highlight the struggles, and more importantly, celebrate the beauty and vibrance of the Black Community throughout the Americas. Many of his pieces include characteristics commonly seen in Black Community Music, such as improvisation, body movements like stomping, clapping, and singing, and driving, syncopated rhythmic patterns. Many of his works are narratives, depicting certain scenes such as a Caribana celebration festival, a soulful sermon inside a Black Church, or even a crime-filled evening as seen in a Blacksploitation movie.
In 2019, for the first time in its 42-year history, Thomas became the first Black Composer to be awarded the National Bandmasters Association Award for his wind composition “Come Sunday.” In our city of Cincinnati, he appeared as a guest conductor and clinician with CCM’s Wind Studies program in 2023.
