Tom Espinola
Teacher
Private Lesson Offerings
Guitar - All Levels
Mandolin - All Levels
Tom's Biography
Inspired by summers spent in the tobacco fields of eastern North Carolina during his youth, Tom Espinola has carried the traditional music torch for over 50 years, melding Jazz, Classical Chamber music, Celtic, Bluegrass, Traditional Old Time, as well as South American styles and avant-garde influences for a distinctive style all his own. Tom is a consummate performer, recording artist, composer, arranger, and sought after producer and recording engineer.
Tom Espinola has been a full-time musician and music teacher since 1973 with experience and expertise teaching all styles and ages. As a teacher of guitar and mandolin, Tom passes his passion for and knowledge of traditional music to a new generation of players and enjoys introducing music theory through applied music instruction incorporating composition and tune writing, arranging, performing, and ensemble playing with stringed instruments. Over the years, Tom has offered private lessons and group classes with several private schools in Virginia including Woodberry Forrest, Wakefield, and Highland School. He has also taught a workshop with Bill Monoe at Smithfield Bluegrass Festival, a Found Sound workshop at The Barns at Wolftrap, as well as Augusta Heritage Workshop in Elkins WV.
Tom’s performance ensembles have included a duo with Lorriane Duisit, New Morning String Band, Nothin' Doin Band, Lulu’s Fate, among scores of collaborators including Bruce Hornsby and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Norman & Nancy Blake, Stephen Bennett, Peter Rowan, Mac Wiseman, Jethro Burns, all the while paying tribute to what he calls “the living tradition.” Cited by The Washington Post as a "superb technical player who rise[s] to the standards established by David Grisman," Tom's virtuosic work on mandolin, mandola, guitar and other instruments appears on over 50 recordings.
A producer and mentor to Steve Smith, the two performed as a duo featuring a wide range of original and traditional oriented instrumental and vocal music performed on mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, guitars, voice and percussion. Tom’s “clear and honest acoustic style” can be heard on his own Feather River (Rounder Records) with Lorraine Duisit and Which Way Waltz (Creative Life Recordings), as well as Steve Smith's Desert Night, Franklin Taggart's Falling All the Way, and Carolyn Fischer's A Rumor in the Mill. As a producer and engineer, Tom has produced over 50 recordings including Rick and Audrey's Sense of Wonder, ShoSho's Days and Years.
Tom has written for chamber orchestra, theater, and dance groups, and one of his multi-media pieces was featured in "New Music America" festival in Washington D.C. Tom was commissioned to arrange for the Paul Winter Consort and for Trapezoid, who recorded his arrangements on Cool of the Day, Another Country, and Now and Then. His compositions have been featured on NPR, National Geographic and Discovery Channel programs, among others.
Having recently relocated to Staunton VA from Cumberland MD, Tom has made his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains for a large portion of his adult life. Already an integral part of the QCMS music community, Tom has acted as a volunteer at the Staunton Old-Time Music Gathering, participates in our recurring Community Music Gatherings, and was a member of the QCMS Family Band in which he performed at the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank benefit concert, “Christmas at Augusta Stone” in December 2025 alongside mother-daughter duo, Molly Rose Murphy and Lorie Lichtenwalner.
Tom actively teaches virtual lessons from his home studio, and has connected with students from all over the United States and around the world – England, France, Africa, Indonesia, Italy – and is looking forward to getting back to in-person lessons and group classes as he joins Queen City Music Studios. Settling into his new Staunton home, Tom says “this seems like a great place to network and make connections with great players…” and we are thrilled to welcome him to the Team of teachers at Queen City Music Studios.
