Author - Tom Reel

Tom Reel has played in the double bass section of the Virginia Symphony since 1984. He holds degrees in Music from the University of Kansas (B.M. 1980 and M.M. 1982). He is also a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy (B.S., 1970) and a Vietnam veteran. Hobbies include swimming, following the fortunes of the New York Yankees, politics, and writing.
Tom has worked on countless union and symphony committees as a volunteer during his two decades in the VSO, and has also served on the Symphony Board (as a musician rep) and been employed on the VSO staff (more than doubling program advertising revenues in three years in the early 1990s). He is a tireless advocate for the symphony and its musicians, and is known for his expression, "Supporting the Arts Means Supporting the Artists."

Right now his goals are to combine seasoned leadership with passing the torch to a younger generation of union leaders, and continuing to grow as a musician. Tom grew up in Tarrytown NY, and spent boyhood summers hiking and camping in the Adirondack Mountains where he learned this philosophy: "Leave the Campsite Better Than You Found It."