He joined the Berkeley faculty in 1981 and was chairman of the music department from 1991 to 1992.
According to the Times, Thow's music "combined a modernist's approach to rhythm and harmony with an almost Romantic lyricism, and often — in works like Trilce (1992) and Breath of Sun (1993) — the music's interest lies in the tension between those contradictory impulses."
Thow also incorporated Native American music into scores such as Lene Tawi (1996), a chamber orchestra setting of a Hopi rain song. His Chumash Songs (2000) used rhythms from the Chumash Indians of Southern California, while his Three Echoes (2001) is scored for a type of flute played by the Lakota Sioux.
In addition, Thow's catalogue includes: an opera, Serpentina (1999), based on a story by E. T. A. Hoffmann; music for a production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (1989); and a dance work, Rim of Heaven (1984). He also wrote works for solo voice and chorus and music combing Baroque and modern instruments.