Thomas Hobbs

Tenor Thomas Hobbs is a significant figure on the English early music scene, frequently performing in both operatic productions and choral music. He is especially often heard in the music of Handel and Bach. Hobbs is a native of Exeter, England, where he began taking trumpet lessons as a youth. At 16, he took up singing, joining the Exeter Cathedral Choir and studying voice with Brian Northcott. Hobbs attended King's College in London, studying history but also taking voice lessons with tenor Ian Partridge. He went on to the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Neil Mackie, and the Royal Academy of Music, working with Ryland Davies. Hobbs garnered substantial honors, including designation as a Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist, which helped launch his career. Hobbs has appeared around Britain, Europe, and the U.S. in music from the 16th through the 18th centuries. He has often collaborated with conductor Philippe Herreweghe and his Collegium Vocale Gent, and with Ensemble Pygmalion and its director, Raphaël Pichon. Hobbs has been heard in Bach Passion and cantata performances with such ensembles as the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, the Dunedin Consort, and the Akademie für alte Musik, Berlin. His operatic credits include performances as Telemachus in Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria with the English National Opera and multiple roles in Monteverdi's Orfeo in performances with the Academy of Ancient Music under Richard Egarr. Hobbs has appeared on numerous recordings with the Collegium Vocale Gent and other groups, appearing in Bach's Mass in B minor, BWV 232, cantatas, motets, and Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248. He was heard on the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge recording of Handel's Chandos Anthems on the Hyperion label. In 2020, he was the tenor soloist on the Akademie für alte Musik, Berlin recording of Handel's Messiah, HWV 56, released on PentaTone. ~ James Manheim