Mr. Michael Thomas 

About Mr. Thomas

Mr. Michael Thomas serves as the Associate Director of Bands and the Director of Athletic Bands at Georgia Southern University where he directs the Southern Pride Marching Band, Wind Symphony, and Pep Bands.  He also teaches marching band techniques and graduate level drill writing and arranging.

Mr. Thomas received his Bachelor of Music Education Degree and Master’s Degree in Conducting Performance from Georgia Southern University.

Mr. Thomas started his career in Drum and Bugle Corps at the early age of thirteen and spent four years marching with the Division 2 Phantom Regiment Cadets.  Shortly after moving to Georgia he joined the Army National Guard Band in Atlanta, GA in 1994.  The military band allowed him to attend Georgia Southern University in the fall of 1995 in pursuit of his Mechanical Engineering Degree. He marched with the Division I Champions, The Cadets in 1998.  After graduating in fall of 2000, Mr. Thomas spent the next eight years working at Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah, GA.

In 2001, he joined the Air Force National Guard Band of the South in Marietta, GA and in 2012 transferred to McGhee Tyson Air Base in Maryville, TN.  During his time in the Air Force, he has been deployed to serve in Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.  His deployment took him to seven different countries playing music for thousands of troops at several different bases.  Mr. Thomas is also the director of Sound Barrier, a twenty member performing ensemble that tours all over the southeast performing music ranging from classic rock to funk, Motown to today’s greatest hits.

Mr. Thomas is an accomplished trumpet and guitar player.  While in the Air Force Band, he performs regularly with the concert band, jazz ensemble, and also the brass quintet.  He also performed on guitar in the rock band, Space-A. During the summer of 2002, Mr. Thomas played trumpet with BLAST II, Shockwave, a product of the Tony and Emmy Award winning production, BLAST!

Mr. Thomas was previously the director of bands at East Paulding High School in Dallas, GA from 2014 to 2021. From 2003 to 2014, he designed and taught the marching band program at Richmond Hill High School in Richmond Hill, GA, where they have won several competitions, including the Georgia Marching Series in 2014. The marching band also performed at Bands of America in Atlanta, GA in 2007.  Mr. Thomas is also an accomplished drill writer, music arranger, and show designer writing for hundreds of ensembles over the past sixteen years.

His professional affiliations include the National Band Association, the National Association for Music Education, and the Georgia Music Educators Association.  Mr. Thomas is also an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi music fraternity.

Last updated: 12/14/2023