Dr. David Manning Thomas

Awarded: 2022
Born: Youngstown, Ohio

"I'm always looking for that next exciting performance. I'm always trying to figure out how can I create something."

- Dr. David Manning Thomas

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Dr. David Manning Thomas is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and one of the area’s leading performing jazz musicians. His musical studies took him from Youngstown, Ohio, to London, England and finally, to Kent State University, where he earned his Doctorate in Musical Education.

Gifted with perfect pitch, Dr. Thomas sought to share his talents and his inspiration with youth. He was a music instructor in schools throughout northeast Ohio, including Cuyahoga Community College. Many of his students have gone on to performance and musical directing careers.

As a keyboardist, Dr. Thomas has recorded and toured with a who’s who of jazz and R&B greats, notably Dizzy Gillespie, Grover Washington, Jr. and Jennifer Holliday.

His acclaimed compositions for choir and orchestra include “Songs of a Journey to Freedom” and various works for the popular jazz group “Pieces of a Dream.”