Katie Thomas

Katie Thomas is a Melbourne-based musician and educator. She is the founder and academy director of the Footscray-Yarraville City Percussion Academy and Director of Music at St Mary’s College.

In 2011 won the Tom Kent Performance Scholarship and went on to complete her undergraduate studies at the University of Western Australia. Following her studies she travelled to Bolivia, South America where she performed and taught at the Conservatorium of La Paz.

In 2016 she toured with the Australian Youth Orchestra around Netherlands, Germany and China, finishing the Australian leg of the tour in the Sydney Opera House. Also in 2016, she toured as Principal Percussionist and Principal Timpanist of the West Australian Youth Orchestra to Singapore and Japan. Katie has also toured to England, France and Belgium with the award-winning Footscray-Yarraville City Band, 2018. In 2017 she moved to Melbourne to complete her postgraduate studies in Education, specialising in Specific Learning Difficulties and Disabilities in students.

Katie has collaborated and performed with other international and local artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Hélène Grimaud, James Morrison, Lior Attar, Nigel Westlake, and The Idea of North, and has performed pre-show entertainment for Taylor Henderson and Katy Perry at the MCG. She has taught at Marcellin College, Xavier College and Caulfield Grammar, as well as tutoring the Melbourne Youth Orchestras and was the residential coordinator for the Australian Youth Orchestra.

In 2023 Katie was accepted into the Royal Northern College of Music in the UK, where she completed a six month intensive as an associate master’s student. While over there she rehearsed with the BBC, competed in Malmö, Sweden with the Cory Band and debuted her duo at the Royal Overseas League in London. She was also a guest artist and workshop coordinator at the Junior RNCM school. In 2024 she completed her Masters of Music (Performance Teaching) at the University of Melbourne and is the recipient of the 2022 Ormond Exhibitions Scholarship for excellence in her studies.