David Thomas

When I first played a Yamaha CSGIII clarinet several years ago, I was immediately struck by the incredible responsiveness and even scale of Yamaha’s clarinets, and — most of all — the obvious care for sound quality that goes into the development of these instruments. As a player of the Boehm-system clarinet in Australia with a special interest in the sound-world of the German and Viennese clarinets, I feel that the CSG model and now especially the SE-Artist clarinets allow me to get a lot closer to my ideal clarinet sound, and also to express myself musically with greater range and refinement. These are instruments that make me look forward to playing the clarinet every day — they challenge me and reward me, and I think they make me a better musician.

Biography

Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1971, David Thomas began playing the clarinet aged 11 in the music programme of his local high school. Playing in concert bands and youth orchestras created a life-long passion for ensemble playing and for the clarinet’s wonderful repertoire of solo and orchestral music. David went on to study clarinet performance at the University of Melbourne with Phillip Miechel and the Vienna Conservatorium with Professor Roger Salander. He joined the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (Perth) as Associate Principal Clarinet and E flat clarinet, before returning to his home town in 2000 as Principal Clarinet of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Since then, he has performed as orchestral musician or soloist with most Australian orchestras including the Australian World Orchestra. Career highlights include the premiere performance of the clarinet concerto written for David and the MSO by iconic Australian composer Ross Edwards, as well as performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra of Brett Dean’s concerto Ariel’s Music.

A large part of David’s life is devoted to his work at the Australian National Academy of Music, where he is co-ordinator of the woodwind department and Head of Clarinet, helping Australia’s finest emerging classical musicians to find their place in the professional music scene as orchestral players, chamber musicians, soloists and educators.

David is proud to be a Yamaha Artist, and performs on SE-Artist Mk2 clarinets.