Tom trained as a clarinettist at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and then privately in Switzerland, Germany and Italy. He currently plays with Britten Sinfonia. In addition Tom is a freelance arts project manager. For the past two and a half years he co-ordinated Hear Here! – a classical music project dedicated to exploring the whole subject of listening, presented by the Royal Philharmonic Society, Classic FM and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. He is currently coordinating projects for the RPS with partners including BBC Radio 3, UCL, Royal Holloway and Keele universities.  Tom also works within the Deaf Community – he is a British Sign Language user - and is active in developing greater access to the arts for those that are deaf or hard of hearing. His current research is examining common misconceptions in woodwind pedagogy and more generally the question ‘Within Education, what is meant by ‘improvement’?’.