Tom studied music at the University of Sheffield and stayed on for a PhD in composition, supervised by George Nicholson and graduating in 2012. He is now settled in Sheffield working as a pianist, conductor, composer, tutor and writer.

As a conductor/director Tom has a close association with STOS Theatre Company, and was musical director for their productions of Gypsy (2018), Shrek (2019), Elf (2021) and Sunshine on Leith (2022) at the Lyceum. He was also M.D. for the first ever amateur performance of Flowers For Mrs Harris by Southey Musical Theatre Company, and the first ever performance of the teen edition of Everybody's Talking About Jamie with Notre Dame High School, Sheffield. Away from musical theatre, Tom conducts the Aurora A Capella Chorus in Chesterfield.

Tom is a founder member of the collective Platform 4: Contemporary Composers, which has led to performances of his work by artists such as Ensemble 360, Opera on Location, and world-renowned pianist Philip Thomas. Elsewhere, his work has been featured at the London New Winds Festival, and by Sounds of The Engine House. He worked on the completion of Bernstein's unfinished ballet Conch Town, which finally received its full premiere at the BBC Proms in 2018. He is currently chairman of the Northern Composers Network.

Tom has worked as an accompanist or repetiteur for Leeds Conservatoire, Mount St Mary's College, the Worksop Festival of Music and Drama, and previously for many years at Bailey-Cox Dance Academy here in Sheffield. He also does a huge amount of playing that hardly anybody gets to see, having accompanied over 1,000 exams and auditions. As a writer, Tom has contributed programme notes for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as local groups such as Hallam Sinfonia.