From Jazz Roots to Basslines: Bassist Tom Van Dyck's Story

What draws someone to the bass, a cornerstone of the orchestra's sound? For Tom Van Dyck, it was the Philadelphia jazz scene that laid the foundation for his love of bass and a career in classical music. Along the way, he's learned from legendary teachers, embraced the thrill of mentoring students, and even found time to race bikes and raise huskies.

What brought you to classical music and the bass specifically?

I came to classical music in a roundabout way, through playing electric bass with my brother and his band, and then starting to play jazz in Philly where I grew up. I started studying with a guy in the Philly orchestra who had taught a lot of legendary jazz players. He was teaching me basic technique, which got me more interested. One thing led to another.

My mom was really involved in Settlement Music School, a major community music school in Philly. She was really into church music and things like that, so it was an easy connection to make.

You actually studied under one of the other BSO bass players.

Yeah, with Ed [Barker, BSO Principal Bass]. That was for my master's degree.

What is it like playing alongside your former teacher?

Oh, it's great. Ed's a legendary player. He's irreplaceable. I've learned so much from him. It's hard to describe. I guess we've been colleagues long enough that it doesn't feel like that relationship, but I still am constantly learning from him, how he leads and how he sets an example, and his sound and everything.

If you weren't playing bass, is there another instrument you would love to play or you wish you'd played?

I'm starting my son on clarinet. One son plays cello, one plays clarinet. I would play either of those, but I think I'd be partial to cello.

You teach at not one but three different schools around the area!

Well technically two, NEC and BU. But I've been taking a student from MIT, and I had one student who was a Harvard-NEC person. So, I am proximally involved in many schools. I really enjoy it. Its mentoring and helping solve problems that I still try to solve every day. You're nervous? Welcome to the club. This is what it is. I like splitting the line between friend, teacher, colleague, and mentor. I have a student who just came to the Tanglewood Music Center this past summer [2024]. So that was a big deal, and it was cool to get to play alongside a student.

Like with Ed, it's like your lives and age and career end up all mixing together. When I joined 10 years ago, although I wasn't that young, I felt like one of the young people. And now I'm sure people who join see me as one of the old crusties. But that's just the way life works.

You've been doing the Tanglewood relay runs as well.

Yeah, I've been pretty active. For a long time, I was a rock climber, and then I got into running because of that, and then for the past 10 years I've been really into cycling and bike racing. That's been evolving as my kids get older. But I still love riding bikes. I have a community of all my friends from bike racing that are all in tech or finance, so it's nice to have non-musician friends.

Do you have opinions about the state of the bike lanes around Boston?

I do have strong opinions about that! I think the protected bike lane is good in theory and not so great in practice. It horrifies me to be between parked cars and the sidewalk because you could get doored.

Mass Ave. by BU to me is really scary. The whole thing with pedestrian, car, scooter, bike, when you put everyone together, I think it's easier to follow the behavior expected of a car. That's kind of what the law is. Now that they've done this four-foot rule, I think it's great. Not that people respect it, but I kind of know what to expect when I'm on a country road: People are going to pass me. But my sense is that protected bike lanes are good in theory, but in practice, they cause mass confusion.

We're trying to be European, and I get that, but the culture's not there yet.

How about the doggies who you have at home?

We have one right now. We had a great dog, a husky who passed two years ago. She was 14. And then we re-upped last year and got another husky. She's awesome. Totally different personality.

We had two female runts, basically. Really sweet. Our first husky though was totally a husky. Kind of aloof, did her own thing, really sweet. This one is like a labrador/husky in personality. Really overly gregarious. It's like, "Okay! Take it easy!" She's awesome. It's nice to get her when she's young so our boys, who are 9 and 7, get the experience of raising a younger dog. They only knew our old dog when she was older.

Lightning round! What's your favorite place to grab food around Symphony Hall?

I'm a creature of habit. I always go to Eataly and then Blue Bottle.

How about out in the Berkshires?

We're into Bistro Box down in Great Barrington.

What's your coffee order?

I always just get a cappuccino.

What is your favorite pizza topping?

Onions and pepperoni. It's classic. Maybe banana peppers too.

Maya Shwayder is the BSO's Senior Contributing Editor and Copywriter.