ABOUT
What do you love about music?
Music is one of the most powerful ways we can express our feelings and emotions. It can make us feel things that words can’t express.
Who is your favorite artist?
Oscar Peterson
What are your top 5 desert island albums?
There Is a Cloud – Elevation Worship
Night Train – Oscar Peterson
Geography – Tom Misch
24K Magic – Bruno Mars
Métropole – Anomalie
Do you play in a band or currently perform?
I am currently the pianist and singer in Light Steps, a funk band in Fort Wayne. I’m also a church pianist since age 11.
PHOTOS
BIOGRAPHY
Tommy is a pianist, singer, and bandleader based in Fort Wayne. He began playing the piano at age nine with a desire to learn his favorite movie songs. It wasn’t long until he became interested in classical music. In 2015, he competed in the Indiana State Piano Competition, placing second. He excelled in classical competitions for the next two years, consistently placing in the top three.
But soon his focus shifted to jazz piano and improvisation. Since then, he has been nationally recognized in the 2020 DownBeat Student Magazine for Outstanding Original Jazz Composition and has played onstage with Grammy Award–winning artists Wynton Marsalis and Jeff Coffin. In 2019, he toured through Costa Rica with Ball State’s top Jazz Ensemble, performing at the Grand National Theatre and other performance halls. He graduated in 2021 with a major in jazz piano performance. Since 2017, he’s performed jazz in hundreds of restaurants and venues, which continues to be one of his great joys.
He’s now a passionate and energetic teacher who strives to share the beauty of playing music with his students.
A Sweetwater Company