Orlan E.Thomas, born in 1935, is Associate Professor Emeritus of Oboe, Music Literature, and Music Theory at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, where he taught for thirty-four years. In addition to bachelor and master?s degrees from the University of Nebraska, he holds a doctor of musical arts (DMA) degree in Oboe Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music where he studied with oboist Robert Sprenkle. In his retirement, he taught for six years at Sias International University in Xinzheng, China and traveled extensively around the globe. From 2017 he is Principal Oboist of the Oklahoma Baptist Symphony.