A versatile and award-winning American pianist, violinist, and composer, Jennifer Thomas performed as a soloist with symphonies and orchestras before striking out on her own as a successful recording artist in 2007. An endorsed Yamaha artist, Thomas' original compositions and classical covers have found favor on the Billboard classical and classical crossover charts, and her music has been used in both films and on television. A native of Seattle, Washington, Thomas began her formal musical training at home at the age of five -- her mother is also a pianist and composer. She studied piano at Brigham Young University-Idaho, where she performed with the school's piano ensemble and played violin in its symphony. Upon graduating, the in-demand multi-instrumentalist performed with Salt Lake City's Murray Symphony, the Temple Square Concert Series, and the Oregon Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, and worked for the Seattle Symphony in their educational department. During this time Thomas began composing her own pieces, drawing on her deep knowledge of classical music to craft instrumental works that were both steeped in tradition, and experimental and cinematic. Adapting five classical pieces and debuting eight original compositions, she released her debut album, Key of Sea, in 2007. Two years later she issued The Lullaby Album, a collaboration with her mother, Carolyn Southworth, that featured lullabies Southworth sang to Thomas as a child. The critically acclaimed and expansive Illumination arrived in 2012, and saw Thomas infusing her bold classical style with elements of world music. The Yuletide-themed Winter Symphony arrived in 2015, and featured collaborations with musicians from the Ensign Chorus, the Utah Symphony, the Salt Lake City Pops Orchestra, and the Cochin Chamber Orchestra. A remastered version of of her 2007 debut featuring bonus cuts and new artwork was issued in 2017, and in 2018 Thomas released The Fire Within, which debuted at number three on the Billboard classical chart. ~ James Christopher Monger