Thomas Doss has just enjoyed a landmark birthday.
The composer of 'Alienus', the set-test at this year's European Championships in Linz has just turned 60, an event that also saw him celebrate 20 years of having his music published under the Mitropa Music label with his own line of Oktavian pieces.
Having studied at the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz, he subsequently studied in Vienna, Salzburg and Maastricht as well as being an orchestrator at the MGM Studios in Los Angeles.
He has conducted the Vienna Chamber Orchestra since 1988 as well as teaching at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. He has been the recipient of both the Kulturpreis des Landes Oberösterreich and the Heinrich Gleisner Prize.
Prominence
He came to prominence in the brass band world with 'Sketches from Nowhere' which was used as the Elite Section set-work at the Norwegian National Championships. It was soon followed by 'Spiriti', written for the 2010 European Championships in Linz.
It has now been performed as the set-work at the North American and National Championships of Great Britain as well as close of 40 occasions as a major championship own-choice selection.
Other notable works performed at elite level include, 'Time Machine' (2012); 'REM-scapes' (2013); 'Trance' (2014); 'Ekstase' (2016); 'Paradisum' (2016); 'Visitations from Beyond' (2017); 'This World' (2024); 'Dark Road' (2025); 'Genetic Code' (2025); 'Remembrance' (2025) and 'Toccata e Fantasia' (2026).
Both 'Blackout' and 'Vipitenum Scenes' have been performed in the Challenge Section of the European Championships.
Music should never be an end in itself, but rather a means of bringing people togetherThomas Doss
Bringing together
Reflection on the many messages of best wishes from around the musical world, Thomas said: "Music should never be an end in itself, but rather a means of bringing people together.
Whatever the instrumentation — choir, symphony orchestra, or brass band, my aim remains the same: to express emotion through an aesthetic musical language that awakens and elevates the higher dimensions of the human spirit."
