Thomas Cabaniss was born in Charleston, SC in 1962. He writes for opera, theater, dance, film, and the concert stage. He lives in New York City, where he teaches at The Juilliard School and works on arts education projects through the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. He was Director of Education for the New York Philharmonic for Kurt Masur and Lorin Maazel and served as Music Animateur for the Philadelphia Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach. He is a member of ASCAP and an Associate Artist with Target Margin Theater, David Herskovits, Artistic Director. 

​Thomas helped to create The Lullaby Project at Carnegie Hall, a program that has grown into a global network of arts organizations, teaching artists and early maternal healthcare practitioners. He works with a team of international artists to develop immersive music theater works for families with children ages 0-2 years old, including Camille's Rainbow, which premiered at Carnegie Hall in October 2022, and huddle in April 2025. He was the host and composer-in-residence for Carnegie Hall's Link Up program from 2010-2020, serving over 120 orchestras in the United States and around the world. Several of his orchestral works are regularly performed as part of the program, including its theme song, "Come to Play."