Pernes studied piano with Bruno Seidlhofer and composition with Roman Haubenstock-Ramati . The first performance of the 1st String Quartet in 1976 at the Wiener Konzerthaus marked the beginning of his career in new music . In the years to come, performances and commissions from various organizers and institutions will follow. In the early 1980s, Thomas Pernes began to expand the range of the classical avant-garde by integrating elements of folk music and jazz into his works, as well as using electronics to expand compositional possibilities.
In the 1990s, the development of a separate form of music theater , known as sound theater , followed, which instead of a course of action offers the representation of human conditions, feelings and associations in a dramaturgy given by the music as a characteristic.
