Fred C. Beyer High School
Band & Color Guard Staff

Tom Gierke has served as a consultant and instructor for the Beyer High School Marching Band and Winter Percussion Ensemble since 2007. He is also currently the Front Ensemble Coordinator for the Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets Winter Percussion Ensemble. He received his Bachelors in Percussion Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2004, where he studied with SF Symphony percussionists Jack Van Geem, David Herbert, and James Lee Wyatt.

Tom's professional performing career began in 1999 when he toured with the broadway show "Victor Victoria" for 8 months playing drumset and percussion. He was a member of the Santa Clara Vanguard Front Ensemble from 2000-2003, where he was instructed by marching activity legends such as Jim Ancona, Jim Casella, Murray Gusseck, and Ralph Hardimon. Since then, he has performed with many renown ensembles in both Contemporary and Classical genres, such as So Percussion, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and the Monterey and Napa Valley Symphonies.

As an educator, Tom has worked with several award winning programs, including the Santa Clara Vanguard, Beyer High School in Modesto, CA, and James Logan High School in Union City, CA. He was on faculty with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's Prep Division in 2004 and 2005, and has served as a concert percussion coach to many middle/high school music programs around the Bay Area of California. He is also a published concert percussion arranger for Tapspace Publications.

Tom currently resides in San Francisco, CA with his wife, Sarah, and works as an Enterprise Sales Manager for Google, Inc. in Mountain View, CA.