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