Tom Burrish isn’t your average senior. 

When he walks down the aisle to “”Pomp and Circumstance,”” seizing his diploma, he won’t be settling down and starting just any career. He plans on starting a band. 

This “”jack of all trades”” psychology major and music minor came to Tucson from South Dakota. 

“”I’ve always joked that the U of A was the closest I could get to (California) on a scholarship,”” said Burrish, a National Merit Scholar. 

Growing up in a musical family, Burrish was surrounded by musicians and music teachers on his mother’s side.

Naturally, he became immersed in the music. For the past 13 years he’s been playing the cello in addition to 11 years on the guitar. 

Burrish said he loved the diversity of sounds that could be created with the guitar and discovered the electric cello, which enabled him to produce an entirely different palette of sounds.   

In high school, Burrish started playing in bands and went on tour. Throughout this experience, his tastes in music diversified to what is now his eclectic love of electronic, rock, hip-hop and classical.   

Burrish uses all of the elements — the beats from hip-hop and electronica, the intensity of rock and the phrasing and melodic lines of classical — to produce his music.  

“”I know it sounds corny, but I really do believe that music is the universal language that we can use to tap into emotions,”” Burrish said.

Recently he performed an electro-acoustic concert with his cello, showcasing his unique music. Burrish has also played with the philharmonic orchestra for eight semesters.

His other music-related endeavors include disc jockeying at a South Dakota college radio station, performing, booking shows with bands and doing live sound and studio recording. Burrish is someone people in the music industry would consider well-rounded. 

“”I love being involved in every part of the process,”” Burrish said. 

He places high importance on every aspect of music, knowing that he can learn from any facet of it, whether his own or someone else’s. 

“”To me listening to and experiencing live music is the most important thing — I try to get out to every concert I can because it’s such a great learning experience and live music is fundamental to music evolution.””

After graduation he’s planning on moving to Colorado with a few other musicians where they all plan to start a new project — aka a band. 

“”If there’s a point in my life where I can make it in music, this would be it,”” Burrish said. “”We want to try something new and see what happens.””