A native of Carmel, Indiana, Thomas English leads a vibrant musical career in the orchestral, chamber music, and teaching spheres. He has served as Principal Bassoon with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Principal Bassoon with the National Symphony Orchestra, as well as second bassoon with the Akron Symphony and Principal Bassoon with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra prior to his appointment to The Florida Orchestra.

Thomas has also performed around the country with the major orchestras in New York, Boston, Atlanta, Detroit, St. Paul, and extensively with The Cleveland Orchestra.  As a solo and chamber musician, he performed as guest artist at the Bard Music Festival in 2024-25 as well as with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta in 2026.  He spent several summers as a fellow at the Music Academy of the West and the Tanglewood Music Center during his studies, as well as at the Round Top Festival Institute.   First appearing on NPR’s “From the Top” at age 17, Thomas made his solo debut the same year with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra performing Hummel’s Bassoon Concerto in F major.

An accomplished pedagogue, Thomas served as Lecturer of Bassoon at the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory for the Performing Arts from 2021-2026.  He has given masterclasses at the Eastman School of Music and Oberlin Conservatory of Music, as well as coaching students in the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Music Institute, and Juilliard’s pre-college program.  Thomas holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and The Juilliard School, studying with George Sakakeeny and Judith LeClair respectively.

Away from the bassoon, he loves to be in nature, golf, explore new coffee shops, meditate, and practice calisthenics.