Earth Music Theater Live with Steve Thomas
“Have you ever watched a thunderstorm happening on Earth from the window of the International Space Station? I hadn’t either, until I witnessed Earth Music Theater Live. The stunning images, set to the gorgeous sounds of these talented musicians is something (astro)not to be missed.” –Monte Belmonte, host and executive producer of NEPM’s Fabulous 413
Earth Music Theater Live with Steve Thomas
The Earth Music Theater Live show concept is a collaboration of Northampton-based multi-faceted musician, Steve Thomas, and Earth movie-maker Dan Barstow, with support from the Association of Space Explorers. EMTL is out to inspire reflection about our planet’s fragility and motivate action toward its preservation. From space, there are no borders—only one interconnected planet. The astronaut imagery in EMTL reminds us of this truth, while the music transcends genre and culture to reflect the unity of our shared world.
With Earth Music Theater Live (EMTL), Steve Thomas’ artistry as a composer, guitarist, and sound designer whose career spans music, film, and planetary storytelling, is on display. His collaboration with Dan Barstow, Director of EarthMusicTheater.org, has produced more than a dozen Earth-themed films featuring Thomas' music paired with breathtaking imagery captured by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. These works have been showcased through the University of California Television’s Earth Serenade series and EarthMusicTheater.org. Their collaboration expanded into the staging of Earth Music Theater Live with Steve Thomas.
The musical heart of EMTL is formed by two complementary bodies of work. Guitarscapes creates atmospheric, cinematic soundscapes inspired by Earth’s beauty as seen from space, while Folktales and Fusions blends homespun Americana with jazz, folk, and world influences to explore the stories that connect us to one another and to our planet. Thomas is joined by an exceptional ensemble of acclaimed Pioneer Valley musicians featuring Chris Cheek (alto saxophone), Carl Clements (bansuri, flute, soprano saxophone), Claire Arenius (drums and percussion), and Josh Metz (acoustic bass). Together they create a richly textured musical landscape, seamlessly interweaving live performance with awe-inspiring astronaut imagery to create an immersive experience that celebrates the beauty, fragility, and interconnectedness of our shared home–planet Earth.
Beyond EMTL,Thomas has built a diverse career spanning music, film, television, education, and multimedia storytelling. Through Audnoyz Media, he produces and licenses music for film and television, records and produces artists, and continues to expand his genre-mashing Audnoyz, Guitarscapes, and Folktales and Fusions catalogs. His audio production, mixing, and post-production work includes a longstanding collaboration with New York Times Critics' Pick composer and producer Ruth Mendelson on multimedia museum exhibits, documentary films, and humanitarian projects including the Dr. Jane Goodall Hopecast and the audiobook My Life with the Chimpanzees, narrated by Dr. Goodall. Thomas has also mixed Mendelson's scores for the Northern Light Productions documentaries Our Promise:100 Years of the American Battle Monuments Commission and Leaving Angola. Thomas recently completed the score mix for the feature-length documentary, Brainstorm, inspired by the memoir of Sara Schley. His film work also includes collaborations with Northampton producer Wade Wofford and Happy Wasteland Studios on the films Urban Ed and Pure Bred.
Whether in the studio or on stage, Steve Thomas creates music that bends ears. Earth Music Theater Live is the culmination of his lifelong pursuit of bringing together music, science, and visual storytelling.
