Lyric Soprano Ashly S. Thomas currently holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Performance from Bethune-Cookman University located in Daytona-Beach, FL. During her undergraduate studies, she was frequently featured as a soloist for concerts and many diverse opera scenes from Mozart to Strauss including Gilda (Rigoletto), Laetitia (Old Maid and the Thief), Countess Almaviva (Le Nozzi di Figaro) Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) and Susannah (Susannah). When Ms. Thomas was not on stage at the university, she was performing with the Orlando Opera Company as a member of the opera chorus. Her time spent with OOC included performances such as Die Fledermaus, Cavalleria Rusticana, Il Trovatore, and Suor Angelica. After receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Music Performance, Ashly spent a summer abroad studying French in Toulouse, France at L'institut Catholic de Toulouse. Returning to the U.S., she received her Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. During her time there she was cast as Countess Almaviva in a fully staged production of Mozart's Le Nozzi di Figaro. During the summer Ashly performed as Stephano, a pants role in Charles Gounod's Romeo et Juliette for the Southern Illinois Summer Music Festival. In 2014 Ms. Thomas was selected as a studio artist in the Angels Vocal Arts young artist program located in Los Angeles, CA where she had the honor of being a featured soloist in several performances in and around Los Angeles, including a masterclass with Italian tenor Maestro Vittorio Grigolo. Currently she is a resident of Tampa and has made quite a name for herself in the performance community. She’s been a member of the Opera Tampa Singers since 2017 and in 2024 she made her mainstage debut as The Sandman in Opera Tampa’s production of Hansel and Gretel.