Tom PughArtistic DirectorA flautist, conductor and teacher, Tom currently holds the positions of Director of Music at Flinders Christian College, Co-Director of the Mornington Peninsula Chorale, Flute Tutor and Conductor in the Melbourne Youth Orchestras program and Artistic Director of the Peninsula Chamber Musicians. Passionate about making music, he has a wealth of experience across many different musical areas from musicals to opera to esoteric contemporary flute repertoire and symphonic works.
Tom graduated from the Elder Conservatorium in Adelaide as a flautist and came to Melbourne in 1995 to study for a master’s degree in conducting at the Victorian College of the Arts. He was as an assistant conductor in the VCA Opera Studio and worked extensively with various VCA ensembles. He then became Director of Music and Chapel Choir at Queen’s College and conducted at Monash University. In 2000, Tom was appointed Teacher of Flute at Brighton Grammar and then added many other strings to that bow over the following 16 years, ending as Head of Middle School Music, Director of the Senior Choral program and the Senior Symphony Orchestra. Most recently Tom has prepared and conducted Haydn’s Creation, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music for The Mornington Peninsula Chorale, as well as Guest Conducting the Frankston Symphony Orchestra and Conducting the Philharmonic Orchestra for Melbourne Youth Orchestras. On the theatre stage he recently musically directed Adam Yee’s opera Carmilla, based on the gothic opera for La Mama and for Victorian Opera's NOVA series. He also prepared the Mornington Peninsula Chorale as part of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's Messiah performed at the FAC. Future engagements include Assistant Conductor of Elektra for the Dramatic Voice Program in Berlin in 2024. |