Thomas Vautor (* before 1580/85; † approx. 1625; confirmed creative years 1592-1619) was an English musician, known above all as a composer of madrigals. Nothing further is known about his life after 1619. Vautor was a house musician in the family of Mary Beaumont of Glenfield, Leicestershire; he held the same post after her marriage to Sir George Villiers in 1592. Their son George was the later Duke of Buckingham.
Vautor applied on May 11, 1616 for a Bachelor of Music degree from Oxford University which was granted on condition that he compose a choral hymn for six voices; he was finally accepted on July 4th. It was at this time that the son of Vautor's patrons, George Villiers, rose in the favour of King James I to the point where he appointed him "1st Duke of Buckingham". In his honor, the composer dedicated a collection of 22 madrigals called "The First Set". They consist of ayres (simple songs) and natures (madrigals about 'nature and wildlife') in 5 and 6 voices which were instrumentally and/or vocally adapted.
