"Thomas Cabaniss's score exudes a contemporary, atonal beauty seasoned with just a pinch of lush, Broadway-worthy melody." -New York Times

This is the website for Thomas Cabaniss, a composer of music for opera, dance, theater, and the concert stage.

2012 is off to a great start with a concert of new songs written by seniors in Morningside and Washington Heights on January 10. SYOTOS and the Lascivious Biddies rocked the Harlem Stage Gatehouse. Watch videos and learn more about these cool songwriting projects at Carnegie Hall Musical Connections

Next concert event is the Carmina Burana Project on February 5 at Carnegie Hall; we'll feature 3 new commissions from high school composers, all sung by NYC public high school students. David Robertson leads the Orchestra of St. Luke's. You can check out videos and more about the project at Carnegie Hall and read about it on Playbill here.

We're putting the final touches on a new cantata: "My Song Is A Fire" for conductor David Rosenmeyer and the Fairfield County Chorale. The date is March 10, 2012 - more info at the Fairfield County Chorale.

Thomas is also facilitating a couple of songwriting workshops for pregnant and HIV affected teens at Jacobi Hospital. Watch a moving documentary about the process on YouTube.

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Summer 2011: After a great trip to San Francisco to host a concert with Chanticleer at the Chorus America Conference, Thomas is completing a series of commissions and arrangements for Carnegie Hall's LinkUp program.

This year's LinkUp concerts at Carnegie Hall were May 24-26. Thanks to all those who came! Along with conductor Rossen Milanov and The Orchestra of St. Luke's, we played to 15,000 area students in Stern Auditorium. We were joined by Broadway singer Nate Stampley (The Lion King, Mary Poppins) and SYOTOS led by Chris Washburne. It marked the NY premiere of "To Make Words Sing" for orchestra and audience. Our project is set to serve over 25 orchestras around the country in 2011-12. For more information and a series of videos, click here.

In Spring 2011, Thomas led a 12-week songwriting workshop at Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx for teens affected by HIV and AIDS. The culminating performance featured singer Jo Lawry and percussionist James Shipp with Nos Novos (Gilad Hekselman, guitar; Rogierio Bocato, percussion, and guest bass player, Matt Aronoff).

In February, Thomas debuted a new choral round on National Public Radio (Click here.): check out this new series of choral canons based on quotes from American presidents - a series led by choral conductor Judith Clurman. He also hosted a Family Sing with the Young People's Chorus of NYC at Carnegie Hall.

In Fall 2010, he  guided two creative projects, one at a local homeless shelter and one to involve local high school choirs in a performance of Too Hot To Handel, the Gospel Messiah, led by Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, all part of programs supported by Carnegie's Weill Music Institute. For a video series about Thomas' work, click here. For the NY Times review, click here.

For a video about a past creative learning project @ Carnegie Hall, click here.

Thomas continues to teach at The Juilliard School (click here) and he consults with orchestras and arts organizations across the country.

Check out the Events page for more details about the performances in 2010, as well as a diary of past events. For sound samples, click on Listen. Choral music and songs can be found on the Piano/Voice tab. There are some new titles - added just this year!

"Cabaniss's score plays a vital role in shaping our perceptions—providing stentorian, driving drum passages; tumbling piano sequences; achingly sweet violin melodies; and much more." -Village Voice