About
Isabella (Bella) Thomas is a kiwi trumpeter hailing from Auckland’s North Shore. A fresh alum of the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), Bella is now undertaking a masters of teaching at the University of Melbourne. For the past three years, Bella has been learning from Yoram Levy and David Elton. Before her move to Melbourne in 2022, Bella completed her Bachelor of Music in 2021 at the Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music (NZSM), under the tutelage of Mark Carter and Matthew Stein.
Achievements over the last few years include being the principal trumpet of the NZ National Youth Orchestra for the 2020-2022 seasons and, as a member of Wellington Brass Band, winning the title of NZ’s Champion Brass Band (2018-2022).
Highlights of her tenure at ANAM include partaking in many of the ANAM side-by-side projects, with Auckland Philharmonia, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra brass section, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Bella also thoroughly enjoyed working with and learning from Jeroen Berwaerts in 2023 during his residency at ANAM and, in 2024, she had the pleasure of playing in a public masterclass for her trumpet soloist hero, Tine Thing Helseth.
Photography: Pia Johnson
Australian Youth Orchestra
