Enterprise State Community College Concert and Community Choir

Dr. Ken Thomas is the Chair of the Fine Arts Division and Instructor of Music at EnterpriseState Community College (ESCC) where he teaches various music courses and directs the Concert Choir and The Entertainers, the school’s show choir. Dr. Thomas also directed the Troy University Gospel Singers for one year in 2019-2020. An active member and supporter of the arts, Dr. Thomas currently serves as President of the Coffee County Arts Alliance.

Dr. Thomas is a native of Auburn, Alabama, and a graduate of Auburn University where he received a bachelor's degree in Music Education, a master's degree in Music Education with Certification in Educational Leadership, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership with emphasis in Administration of Supervision and Curriculum (Fine Arts). With twenty-nine years of teaching experience, Dr. Thomas has taught at all levels, including elementary, middle, high school, and college. Prior to his work at ESCC, Dr. Thomas served one year as Director of Choral Music at Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City, Alabama, where he conducted the Concert Choir and Show Choir. Prior to that, he taught seven years at Auburn High School, two years at J.F. Drake Middle School, and five years at Wrights Mill Road Elementary School – all schools he attended as a student in the Auburn City School System. Choirs under his leadership consistently received superior ratings at district and state festivals and at other competitions and festivals.

In March 2017, the ESCC Choirs participated in the premiere performance of The Wind, a piece written to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the tornado that destroyed Enterprise High School, at Carnegie Hall.

In March 2019, the ESCC Choirs and the Adult Choir from the Episcopal Church of the Nativity provided the Prelude to an Evensong at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

In December 2020, Dr. Thomas served as Music Director for 50 th Anniversary Virtual Just Mercy Just Jesus Revival by The Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, and in June 2021, will serve as Music Director for the Union of Black Episcopalians National Virtual Conference.

In 2022, Dr. Thomas was the Alabama Education Association’s recipient of The NEA Foundation California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence. Dr. Thomas is frequently called upon to serve as an adjudicator and clinician. He was a featured teacher in the Alabama Education Association and National Education Association television commercials promoting America’s Public Schools. Dr. Thomas’ professional organizations include the American Choral Directors Association and the National Education Association.

Dr. Thomas also served three terms as National Repertoire & Standards Chair for Show Choirs in the American Choral Directors Association.