Nova Thomas is Assistant Professor of Voice at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and Professor of Professional Practice and departmental chair at the New School for Drama, New School University (formerly the Actors Studio Drama School) in New York City. Her teaching responsibilities include private vocal instruction, dramatic coaching, four progressive semesters of classes for the singing-actor, role preparation and advanced classes in voice and speech training. She is a recipient of New School University’s most prestigious award for “Excellence in Teaching,” and she is in demand as a masterclass teacher and speaker. Recent engagements in this capacity have included the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and National Opera Association Winter Conference, an OPERA America-sponsored event on the training of big voices and several university master classes. Additionally, she is a teaching-artist and dramatic coach for Westminster Choir College’s summer CoOPERAtive program, and she co-teaches with renowned actor and TONY award winner Denis O’Hare, for the Summer Music Theater Immersion Experience in New York City. As a performer, Ms. Thomas is an internationally acclaimed soprano whose work has been consistently characterized as “ravishing in sound and magical in stage presence” (OPERA/London).

Ms. Thomas is originally from North Carolina, and she has received her home state’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the arts. She serves with General Henry Hugh Shelton, the former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as a member of his board of directors for a national leadership initiative.