Steven Thomas

Violist & Guest Conductor

Steven ThomasSteven Thomas is a founding member of the orchestra and conducting staff at our MostArts Festival. Maestro Thomas is honored to conduct the piano competition concerts at MostArts, drawing on his long experience with young artists. When not conducting, he performs in the violin and viola sections of the MostArts Festival Orchestra.

As Assistant Professor of Strings of the Greatbatch School of Music at Houghton College, Mr. Thomas is a neighbor of Alfred. Co-Director of Strings, along with his violinist wife Martha, he instructs the viola and bass studios, serves as piano accompanist in faculty and student recitals and for several studios, coaches chamber music, conducts Strings Lab and is the Assistant Conductor of the Houghton Symphony Orchestra, in which he plays bass when not conducting.

Mr. Thomas maintains an active freelance performing career in the Buffalo and Rochester area. In Buffalo, he serves as Concertmaster at Shea’s Buffalo Performing Arts Center and as a substitute violinist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He performs as a violinist at the Rochester Broadway Theatre League and appears in recital accompanying tubist Don Harry at the Eastman School of Music.

Steve completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education with a violin major at the Crane School of Music, SUNY at Potsdam. His Master of Fine Arts degree in Violin Performance was earned at the State University at Buffalo. For over thirty years Mr. Thomas was a high school orchestra director in the Williamsville and Amherst school districts. His high school orchestras toured regularly, including performances by invitation at the NYSSMA Winter Conference and the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic.

Conductor and Music Director of the Amherst Symphony, a volunteer adult community orchestra, for seventeen years, Steve continues to serve as a conductor of youth, community, college and professional orchestras and appears regularly as a guest conductor. He co-founded Vivace String Camp at Houghton College with Martha Thomas and subsequently they moved to the Genesee River valley here in the Southern Tier of New York State.

You might see Steve out hiking, biking, canoeing, cross country skiing, fishing or flying as a private pilot.