Chadwick Thomas is a clarinetist, conductor, and educator based in Hartford, Connecticut. He performs as a chamber musician and orchestral player throughout the United States. He is a member of Wa Sinfonietta in New York City and has performed with the Greater Bridgeport, Hartford, and Ridgefield Symphonies, and Symphony in C. An active chamber musician, Thomas has had the privilege of performing with artists including Vadim Gluzman, Donald Palma, James VanDemark, Robert Black, Lucy Shelton, and Ayako Oshima, and he is a regular guest artist at the Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival in Alabama. In 2026, Thomas founded Crystal Coast Chamber Music, a new concert series in Eastern North Carolina.
A prizewinner in several competitions, Thomas won the Paranov Concerto Competition and performed Jean Françaix’s Clarinet Concerto with the Hartt Orchestra in 2023. He has also received first prize in the NOLA Chamber Fest Competition, awards from the International Clarinet Association’s Clareidoscope Competition, and special prizes from Peabody Conservatory and the Louisiana State University School of Music.
As a conductor, Thomas has led the Foot in the Door Ensemble, the Hartt Orchestra, and the Atlantic Music Festival Contemporary Ensemble. In fall 2025, he served as assistant conductor for a performance of Neely Bruce’s The Bill of Rights: Ten Amendments in Eight Motets at Wesleyan University.
An active educator, Thomas is on faculty at The Hartt School, Hartt Community Division, Cheshire Academy, and Wesleyan University. He previously spent three summers on faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp, teaching clarinet and chamber music and performing in numerous recitals. For three years, he directed the Hartt Clarinet Ensemble, leading the group to a performance at ClarinetFest 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. Additional conference performances include the U.S. Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium and the Women Composers Festival of Hartford.
Dr. Thomas holds degrees from the Peabody Institute, the University of Michigan, and The Hartt School at the University of Hartford. His principal clarinet teachers include Ayako Oshima, Charles Neidich, Chad Burrow, Daniel Gilbert, Alexander Fiterstein, Deborah Chodacki, and Douglas Moore-Monroe. He studied conducting with Glen Adsit and Edward Cumming.