Teaching

Tom has had a lifelong commitment to education. He was the director of Jazz Studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy from 1983-87, and has been a professor of music at Western Michigan University since that time. He was appointed Director of Jazz Studies at WMU in 2000. He has also taught at Michigan State University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Birch Creek Festival, the WMU Seminar high school program, and has given over 100 master classes world wide. His students can be found in orchestras on three continents, on the faculties of universities around the world, and on stage and record with some of the greatest names in jazz.

He has been fortunate to have been associated with a great number of wonderful young artists throughout his career and appreciates those who have been able to keep in touch.

Some of these include:

Dimitri Matheny

Clarence Penn

Xavier Davis

Quincy Davis

Neal Miner

Janice Brine

Jesse Murphy

Jason Carder

Thomas Huckaby

Damien Jones

Frayne Lewis

Evan Myers

Bridget Valian

Gregory Ceo

Chad Johnson

James Mallet

Madeleine Leslie

David Rothstein

Chris Hornung

David Rabbideau

Mike Drost

Tim Eckert

Rich Roznowski

M.J. Mendell

Matt Hughes

Anders Dahlberg

Frank Tramp

Dan Thatcher

Sam Smiley

Fernando Rangel

David Foster

Michael Bragg

Allen Stephenson

Mark Huff

Anne Mallekoote

Barry Duthie

Matt Warnock

Jae Chung

Drew Schnurr

Roger Shew

Lyman Medeiros

David Story

David Foster

Jeremy Beiber

Todd Shay

Tom Michael

Matt Heredia

Shawn Sommer

Brett Farkas

Joe Ayoub

P.J. Roberts

Aaron Tully

Waldir Bertipaglia

Chris Rose

Mark Ziegler

Phil Suzuki

Don Sibley