Thomas Steele

     Tommy Steele is where classical music meets an outdoorsman. A junior classical clarinetist at Belmont University, Tommy brings together his love of music with a Texas upbringing filled with fishing, hunting, hiking, and plenty of time spent outside. He studies clarinet with Dr. Daniel Lochrie while performing in the Belmont University Wind Ensemble under Dr. Barry Kraus and Orchestra under Dr. Christopher Fashun. He has also performed in Belmont’s opera program with Dr. Daniel Krenz and is currently expanding his chamber music experience as a member of a reed quintet. While the concert hall may be where much of his time is spent today, Tommy’s interests have always stretched well beyond the stage.
     Tommy’s musical journey started long before the clarinet entered the picture. As an elementary school student, he began playing piano, giving him his first experience with music and performance. Eventually in 6th grade, he traded the piano for the clarinet and discovered an instrument that would take him into the world of orchestral, wind , chamber, and opera music. Since then, his musical experiences have continued to grow in a variety of directions. Rather than limiting himself to one type., Tommy enjoys the opportunity to see how his instrument functions in different musical settings and to continually find new challenges as a performer.
     One of Tommy’s favorite composers is Camille Saint-Saëns, whose music captures many of the qualities he enjoys about classical music. His favorite piece by Saint-Saëns, and one of his favorite pieces in general, is the Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, also known as “The Organ Symphony.” The work’s massive orchestral sound, dramatic character, and memorable musical ideas have made it a standout in Tommy’s listening and musical interests. While his primary instrument is the clarinet, Tommy’s appreciation for orchestral music extends to the entire ensemble and the way individual instruments come together to create something much larger. For him, classical music is not simply about playing the notes on the page, but about understanding the character and story behind the music.
     Tommy has also spent a significant part of his musical life outside the traditional classical world. He competed in Drum Corps International with Genesis Drum and Bugle Corps on mellophone, eventually performing at the DCI World Championships in Indianapolis. Moving from clarinet to mellophone gave him the chance to approach ensemble performance from a completely different perspective. Drum corps demanded precision, endurance, discipline, and the ability to perform as part of a very large ensemble, all while moving and dancing around a football field, which by the way doesn’t happen in classical music. 
     Outside of music, Tommy remains closely connected to the outdoors and to the Texas upbringing that helped shape him. Growing up in San Antonio, he spent much of his time fishing, hunting, and hiking, interests that remain an important part of his life. His path as a musician has taken him from elementary-school piano lessons to the clarinet, from Texas to Belmont, and from the concert stage to the DCI World Championships. As a student, he is still discovering exactly where music will take him. For now, Tommy is focused on becoming a better clarinetist, finding new ways to perform, and enjoying the strange and rewarding combination of being a classical musician who really wants to go put a line in the river after rehearsal.