Thomas studied classical piano and jazz at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, where he wrote and performed a variety of work. He was then accepted onto the renowned film scoring programme at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he studied with composers such as Jerry Goldsmith and David Raksin.

After graduating, Thomas started to contribute for various television series and films. He composed, conducted and produced scores in a range of musical styles. During this time, Thomas also continued to write and produce songs. This led to him writing, performing on, and producing “In Style and Rhythm” for Tom Jones’ album “24 Hours”, under the pseudonym “Pumali Panthers”.

Thomas went on to begin a fruitful working relationship with Roland Emmerich, composing and co-composing the scores for nine of his films – including “Independence Day Resurgence”, “White House Down”, “2012” and “10,000 BC”, for which he received BMI Film Music Awards. For television, he scored more than forty episodes of the long running hit series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”.

Thomas is particularly drawn to scores which transport the audience to another place and another time – while at the same time providing an additional layer to the narrative which might not be visible on the screen. He also enjoys using non-Western instruments to tell a story, as he does on the scores for “Anonymous” and “The Crusaders” among others.