Tom Collier (°1978) has been passionate about music since he was a child. He obtained a master's degree in clarinet with great distinction from Eddy Vanoosthuyse, together with a first prize in harmony at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven.
His love of composition led him to the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp, where he graduated with distinction in 2019 with a Master's degree in composition under Wim Henderickx and Luc Van Hove. He also studied composition with Alain Craens. In the same year, his symphonic work Spirits was selected and performed by the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. He previously received the Silver Medal of the 2017 Music Prize for his solo works Herfstkleuren (clarinet) and Iphis (contrabassoon).
Tom also immersed himself thoroughly in conducting. In 2022, he obtained a Master's degree in orchestral conducting at the Lemmens Institute with Ivan Meylemans. In addition, he followed an international programme at the Atlantic Coast Orchestra in Portugal, where he further expanded his stage experience as a conductor.
Today, Tom combines composing and conducting with an active teaching practice. He is a teacher of AML intonation at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp and teaches composition and initiates interdisciplinary projects at the Art Academy of Torhout. As a conductor, he leads the Royal Harmony of the Congregation of Izegem and the KATZ Symphony Orchestra in Torhout. In addition, he is regularly active as a guest conductor and coach for rehearsals and concert projects. Tom also initiates his own creative projects in which music, story and imagination come together. Under the name Caricatunes, he composes playful miniatures full of character and stylistic parody.