He is also a professional jazz saxophone and trumpet player around the Upstate of South Carolina, and serves as the Director of the Spartanburg Jazz Ensemble. Tom has played at venues across the country; he has opened for distinguished musicians such as nine-time Grammy Award-winner Wynton Marsalis and has been invited to play for dignitaries such as Hillary Clinton. Outside of music, Tom received a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Johns Hopkins University in 2009 and now teaches at Wofford College in Spartanburg.