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Tom McGrath

Thomas McGrath in a grey buttonup and a purple and black tie

Adjunct Instructor - Applied Percussion

Contact Information

Tyler Hall 032
315.312.3052
[email protected]
Tom McGrath website

Office hours

Thursdays by appointment

Tom McGrath has been Instructor of Applied Percussion and Director of the Percussion Ensemble at SUNY Oswego since fall, 2011. His percussion performance background includes jazz trios/duos; small and large big band; contemporary folk; modern dance; rhythm & blues; and classical and modern percussion repertoire.  From 1987-2005, he owned and operated Tom-Tom Recording Studio, N.Y.C. where he performed with and/or produced a diversity of musicians and singer songwriters in the tri-state area, including, Jeremy Wall (Spyra Gyra); Art Garfunkel (Simon and Garfunkel); drum set artists Max Roach, Ginger Baker and Bernard “Pretty” Purdie; composer, John Cage; Louis St. Louis (music director - Smokey Joe’s Café); choreographers, Mimi Garrard and David Parker; contemporary folk duo, Minus Ted, and cellist, Dawn Avery.  Other associated live performances include Aretha Franklin; Count Basie trumpeter, Joe Wilder; influential rappers Melle Mel and Afrika Bambaataa; while also sharing stage performances with Joe Cocker, B.B. King, the Stray Cats and the rhythm and blues group, Mtume.

Additionally, Tom was a member of Lou Harrison’s Si Betty Gamelan Ensemble at San Jose State University, California, and he traveled nationally and internationally as a percussionist with the Manhattan Ballet Company. Tom has engineered, produced and/or performed on dozens of recordings and has composed music for films, podcasts, and modern dance. He has released two percussion-driven recordings: Pictures at The Family House and Ten Shades of Blue.

Tom resides in Fayetteville, New York. and performs throughout Central New York with the trio MOJOTO and Monk Rowe & the 5 Families Ensemble. 
 

Education

B.A.: SUNY Oswego


M.A.: Syracuse University


SU of California at San Jose: Additional Study in Gamelan Ensemble Performance and Conducting


Teachers:

Al Miller
John McNeill
Anthony J. Cirone
Lou Harrison
Michael Lauren


Classes Taught

Applied Percussion 
Percussion Ensemble