About Amanda Thomas
Amanda first began her journey with music as a junior high student who recognized that no singing opportunities existed in her rural Idaho town for someone her age. She insisted on joining the high school choir with her older sister and formed a life-long love of singing and playing numerous instruments.
After years competing in the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho, Amanda chose to pursue a BA in Music Education with a vocal emphasis from the same establishment. While attending, Amanda participated in ensembles including DancersDrummersDreamers, Marching Band, musical theater, and was selected to perform with a small choir that toured Ireland. She additionally trained and conducted a select choir that performed for an audience of 10,000.
Amanda moved to Los Angeles upon graduation, beginning a career with Gymboree Play & Music while continuing to teach private lessons. This era had Amanda writing preschool curriculum by day and training pianists and vocalists at the Santa Monica School of Dance and Music by night. Children began at Gymboree and continued learning with Amanda as private students, creating relationships lasting more than a decade. The stage soon called, with a residency at the Whitefire Theater. Amanda also chose to stay behind the scenes, acting as a music producer for Lost: The Musical.
As an educator, Amanda believes in loving the process and making learning a life-long joy. Amanda’s approach blends theory, aural skills, music history, and movement to create a strong foundation that allows students to move from playing what is on the page to making their own compositions. While Amanda was trained in opera, she takes pride in fostering the individual talents of each student, whether it is in the style of Broadway, Disney, folk, gospel, or country.
Besides playing music, Amanda enjoys traveling domestically and internationally, cooking, reading, and caring for her two cats.
