San Francisco Bay Area native Peter Thomas began his musical journey behind a set of drums. It was through this initial pursuit—one he continues to actively pursue—that his natural evolution into audio production began. To learn more about his ongoing drumming journey, visit his drummer site.
Most recently, Peter completed a 13-year in-house tenure at Disney. Starting as an Audio Producer, his final in-house position was as an Audio Lead, where he spearheaded audio efforts for the Interactive Experiences division. His time at Disney was highly rewarding, with work on numerous projects that drew from Disney’s diverse catalog, including audio for beloved Disney classics, Pixar favorites, the Star Wars franchise, and current Marvel blockbusters. His career at Disney began in the games division, where he led sound design efforts for many successful video games, achieving 17 titles in the Top 20 on the iTunes Charts, including six that reached #1. He later transitioned to consumer products, where he collaborated closely with third-party vendors like Amazon and Google on groundbreaking Disney products that utilize audio, including the global launch of Disney’s first-ever voice assistant, Hey Disney.
During his time at Disney, Peter was also recognized for his audio excellence with multiple Webby Awards, including Best Use of Voice Technology for Nat Geo Kids Geo Challenge (2022), Frozen Sing! (2021), and Stories from Disney’s Frozen 2 (2020), along with Amazon’s Top 10 recognition for Star Wars: Choose Your Destiny (2019) and IGN’s Best Mobile Sim Game for Tiny Death Star (2013). It was also during his tenure at Disney that he became increasingly involved as a composer for many of the projects he worked on.
Today, Peter continues to contribute to Disney projects on a contract basis.
Background…
Peter’s pursuit of musical education led him to Los Angeles, where he earned a B.A. in ethnomusicology from UCLA, studying with some of LA’s finest jazz luminaries, including Oscar Brashear, George Bohanon, Roberto Miranda, and legendary guitarist Kenny Burrell.
After graduation, Peter dove into music and audio production. Following an internship at Cherokee Studios, he took a studio assistant position at Craig Harris Music, working alongside composer and sound designer Craig Harris (Quincy Jones, Braveheart). Peter then moved to Primal Scream Music, where he led the technical operations of the post-production facility and engineered advertising spots for clients like Dodge and Mattel. He also collaborated with composers and sound designers, including Claude Letessier (The Thin Red Line) and Ralph Schuckett (Pokemon).
Upon returning to the San Francisco Bay Area, Peter joined Studio Hibiki. In addition to his role as chief engineer, Peter soon took on the responsibility of managing the recording facility. While at Studio Hibiki, he engineered sessions for various projects and clients, helping to establish the studio as a leading Bay Area recording facility. Notable projects included mastering the first WPMA concert DVD (featuring INXS, Maxi Priest, and Gloria Gaynor), and a range of recordings for artists such as Jon Secada, Shankar and Ginger, Colin Jesse James, Pete Escovedo, Dennis Chambers, Hiram Bullock, and Jimmy Degrasso. When Studio Hibiki closed, Peter freelanced as an audio engineer.
Peter then made the shift into video game production, working as a sound designer on the popular Guitar Hero video game franchise for Activision. He was involved in game audio production and mixing, as well as developing the drum performance elements of the game. His work can be heard in the fan-favorite Guitar Hero: Van Halen.