Tom McPherson is an Associate of the Royal Conservatory Of Music, Toronto, where he earned a diploma in Piano Performance with a First Class Honours standing. He graduated with High Distinction from the Eastman School of Music, Rochester NY, and then earned a Bachelor of Education degree from the University Of Toronto. Tom continued studies in Piano Pedagogy with Earle Moss at the RCM, and achieved the highest marks in the Piano Pedagogy written examination.
In 1986, Tom was hired by the Royal Conservatory as both a piano teacher and examiner. One of his first assignments was to examine students in Vancouver, opening his eyes to this most beautiful part of the country!
Still living in Ontario at the time, Tom was hired in 1989 as a full-time teacher for the Board Of Education in Oakville, Ontario. Three years later, he moved to the west coast and taught band, choir, and other core subjects for the Coquitlam School District. By 2002, Tom resigned from full-time work to pursue his loves of music and astrology as a self-employed individual.
Tom continues to enjoy teaching students of all ages. His studio roster includes young children just starting out in piano, kids who have a few years’ experience, adults who always wanted lessons as a kid but never got them, and others who have returned to lessons after a few decades have passed.
Since 2002, Tom has been the accompanist for Richmond Chorus under the direction of Brigid Coult. In addition, he is the regular pianist and choral accompanist for the North Shore Unitarian Church in West Vancouver.
As well as the enjoyment Tom receives from his work as piano teacher and accompanist, Tom is excited with opportunities that come his way in writing and arranging for choirs and for the theatre. He has collaborated with Lezlie Wade, a longtime friend, on a few projects — a favourite being the 2006 creation of A Christmas Carol.
Having worked with several hundred people over the years, Tom became fascinated by what he initially thought of as “categories” of personality traits. It seemed that there would be fragments of one person’s makeup in someone else, as if entirely different people actually shared some of the same character programming. It was in the 1990’s that Tom began studying astrology and found it to be the ideal language for his observations. In addition to his work in music, today he serves as a consulting astrologer for a small but growing clientele in Canada and the USA. His practice is now registered as Vancouver Astrology Services.
Tom McPherson is a member of the BC Registered Music Teachers’ Association and the BC Choral Federation.
