Thomas Shorthouse is a London-based composer, artist, and producer hailing from West Yorkshire. Educated in both music and visual art, Thomas is often inspired by both disciplines: his music characterised by its darkness, with ever-flowing harmonic worlds leading to bursts of light. Sombre and obscure, yet feverish and playful, Thomas’ works encompass a large breadth of complex emotions delivered with a solid, considered architecture.

A scholar at the Royal College of Music, and student of Dr Deirdre Gribbin and Prof. Simon Holt, Thomas’ undergraduate studies has thus far led him to collaborations with emerging artists including Patricia Gomez, Christiana Achim, The Vox Quartet, and Luca Imperiale, as well as workshops and premiers with established ensembles including the Fidelio Trio, Alkyona Quartet, Ex Corde, and RCM String Orchestra. Thomas’ time at the RCM has also led him to receive commissions for both chamber and large ensemble works.

Thomas’ recent projects include Angels on the beach at night, a recorder concerto written for Luca Imperiale to be premiered in 2025, as well as Five glances through glass horses, a piece written for instruments in the RCM Wolfson Centre archive.

As a producer, Thomas' home is in left-leaning pop, and is always looking to combine his passions as a composer and non-classical artist. Thomas' primary goal as a producer is always to find a distinct voice in an artist, drawing from many sources and inspirations to guide, shape, and mold an artist into something they can be proud of. 

Thomas has worked with artists globally from US-based artists Solani and WhoIsJt, to Netherlands-based folk-pop artist FAE, and Tasmania-based rap artist FID. Thomas has taken on both large scale projects and stand-alone singles, working through many genres and roles as a lead producer, co-producer and on occasion mixing engineer. 

Thomas’ compositional work has been featured in the Boconnoc Estate's RCM residency concert, RCM Museum Lates: Old Meets New concert, the RCM Consort 21 2024 concert, Overtures open recording session, RCM Head On Photo Festival concert 2022, and Wakefield Youth Orchestra’s 2022 summer concert.

In 2024, Thomas was shortlisted for the National Centre for Early Music's Young Composer Award for his piece Mirabile mysterium, which was then workshopped and premiered by vocal ensemble Ex Corde, and in 2022, Thomas’ work Lullaby for the Things That Don’t Sleep, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth International Composition Award, where his piece Commingled Waltz was then premiered at The Royal Overseas League, London by students of the Royal Northern College of Music.

Prior to this, Thomas collaborated and worked with musicians of the Wakefield Music Services (of which he was one himself) on an arrangement of Wakefield Abolitionist’s song All Hearts Darkened for massed string orchestra which was then performed and recorded as a part of the Wakefield Heritage Action Zone project, then leading to his work Melancholia for the Wakefield Youth Orchestra.

Prior to his current professors at the RCM, Thomas has recieved additional guidance from Ed Bell, Dr David Horne, and Dr Catherine Kontz.

Thomas is grateful to be an Ian Evans Lombe Scholar at the RCM.