Boston Symphony Orchestra bassist Tom Van Dyck discusses his musical roots

Open positions in symphony orchestras are rare, and a spot in one of the best orchestras in the country is rarer still. At age 32, and after more than a decade honing his craft as a professional double bass player, Settlement alumnus and Boston Symphony Orchestra bassist Thomas Van Dyck stands at the pinnacle of his field.

Thomas with Boston Symphony Orchestra concertmaster
Malcolm Lowe after winning his double bass audition

Thomas says his initial interest in music came from listening to jazz and playing electric bass, but he was
exposed to classical music early on as well: his mother, Central Board of Trustees Chair Barrie Trimingham, frequently played classical recordings at home. He got his start playing classical music in Settlement’s Arco Chamber Orchestra, now known as the Trowbridge Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Peter Dundon from 1996-98. He also worked as an intern for the Kaleidoscope Arts Enrichment Pre-K Program with Martha Glaze Zook and played a senior recital accompanied by piano faculty and Lillian Kraus Felber Distinguished Faculty Chair Jeffrey Uhlig. After studying at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and at Boston University, he embarked on a career in music, playing orchestral and chamber music with ensembles and at festivals across the United States.


Now that he’s settled in Boston, he’s no longer crisscrossing the country for auditions or substitute gigs, but he’s still focusing intensely on his own playing. Even at the height of the profession, there’s always more to learn.

Q: What experience prepared you most for this stage of your career?

Thomas Van Dyck: When you get to a certain level of mastery, then you have to focus on developing that last five or ten percent of your playing. For me, I got that through a combination of studying with Ed Barker at Boston University and being at Yellow Barn, a summer chamber music festival in Vermont. It’s where I found the joy and motivation of being around a community of players, and that really inspired me.

Q: What does it take to be a professional musician today?

TVD: The big thing is tenacity. You have to choose where to audition, how you will travel, and how you will get around—especially if you play something big, like a bass! It can be pretty brutal after a while, and you have to commit to that lifestyle. You also have to truly love the classical repertoire. A lot of the sustaining power in a career in music comes from loving a certain piece of music. When everyone’s on the same page and playing with a ton of commitment, there’s nothing like it. Life as a musician is not always going to be perfect, but more than ever, musicians will seek out situations where everyone plays together and respects each other.

Q: What lessons from your past do you share most frequently when teaching?

TVD: What I like to pass on is excitement and an intense energy in the process of discovery. It happens when you are really in the zone and you have an extreme, selfless excitement about figuring out what you’re playing. You have this feeling of infectious enthusiasm, and you get to the point where you are no longer thinking about yourself while you’re playing.

Q: What specific lessons or memories do you take with you from your time at Settlement?

TVD: When I first joined the Arco Chamber Orchestra at Settlement, I said, “Am I really ready for this?” I thought that everyone was already so good and I had this sense of insecurity, which motivated me to work really hard. I remember thinking while practicing, “this is my own thing.” That’s where I really developed a sense of ownership: from figuring out things on my instrument and discovering it for myself. It became a process of working to get better day to day, month to month, and year to year.

This post is adapted and expanded from Settlement Music School's fall 2013 newsletter. Read more online here.

Getting the band back together: Concert and Symphonic Bands at the Willow Grove Branch

Ask anyone who's played a brass, woodwind or percussion instrument where they got their start: band is the place to be. It might start with scales, or with Sousa, and the next thing you know, you're approaching seventy-six trombones, one hundred and ten cornets, and more.

The band program at Settlement Music School started last year at the Germantown and Willow Grove Branches, drawing a range of wind and percussion players. To continue the program this year, there's a real band evangelist on board, with experience in marching and concert bands. 

JoAnn Wieszczyk is now directing the Concert Band and Symphonic Band at the Willow Grove Branch and leading a band at Hardy Williams Academy, a Mastery Charter School in Southwest Philadelphia, through Settlement's new Music Education Pathways program.

Originally from rural northeastern Pennsylvania, Wieszczyk picked up the flute in middle school after being went on to play in the Pennsylvania Music Education Association All-State Band and All-State Orchestra, as well as the All-Eastern Band.

With experience as a flutist and conductor in concert and marching band settings, she's a leader who knows what it's like to be part of the rank-and-file, too. As a director, she stresses unity, both in the way her students play and the way they treat each other.


"The first thing I tell them when I'm front of them on the podium is that we're a family." She encourages young musicians to treat their peers like brothers and sisters because that's how she found herself and came into her own: "Wherever I didn't fit in, I worked it out through music."

From Wieszczyk's first day on the podium leading a group of any kind, she makes it clear: "If you have a problem, musically we'll solve it together." She also aims to boost not only the most talented musicians in an ensemble, but also the hardest-working and most persistent ones. Doing this helps create multiple leaders within the band: people who can lead sectional rehearsals or who can quiet things down if they get rowdy.


The goal is not just to make students love band, but also to create interest in music in general. Weekly rehearsals aren't just hard-core practice sessions; they're opportunities to explore music and different ways of playing and creating it. Wieszczyk cites her experience in creating song arrangements that spark interest; she can tailor songs to the specific instrumentation of the ensembles and even creates musical mashups: song arrangements that combine classical melodies with familiar pop tunes.

All of it -- developing leaders, creating a feeling of community, adapting music into forms that students will respond to -- comes from the same love of music. "There's nothing I want more than inspire and connect with students," she says.

The band program at the Willow Grove Branch consists of Concert Band for students in grades 4 through 8, and Symphonic Band for students in grades 8 through 12. Rehearsals are Tuesday nights: 5:30 to 6:30 PM for the Concert Band, 6:30 to 7:30 PM for the Symphonic Band. Click here and fill out the online form to receive more information, or contact Branch Coordinator Erin Doolittle at 215.320.2630 or by email.