During her residency, Thomas premiered nine commissioned orchestral works and helped establish the MusicNOW series.

"[3] Commissions include those from the Santa Fe Opera in collaboration with the San Francisco Opera and several other opera companies, PEAK Performances at Montclair State University and the Martha Graham Dance Company,[4] The Cathedral Choral Society of Washington, D.C.,[5] the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Festival, BBC Proms, Diotima Quartet and The Philharmonie of Paris, Sejong Soloists, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra,[6] Des Moines Symphony, Boston Symphony, Utah Symphony, Wigmore Hall in London, Indianapolis Symphonic Choir,[7] JACK quartet,[8] Third Coast Percussion,[9] Spektral Quartet,[10] Chicago Philharmonic,[11][failed verification] Eugene Symphony,[12][failed verification] the Danish Chamber Players,[13][failed verification] Notre Dame University, Janet Sung,[14] and the Fromm Foundation.

[17] Immediately after receiving her degree from the Royal Academy of Music,[18] Thomas was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1989.

[19] Shortly after completing her Guggenheim Fellowship, Thomas began teaching at the Eastman School of Music.

In 2016, Thomas created and co-curated the Ear Taxi Festival,[22] which included over 350 musicians, 88 composers, and 54 world premieres.