Thomas Metcalf (b. 1996) is a musicologist and composer specialising in music, visual art, and intermediality. Tom’s research uses an interdisciplinary approach incorporating visual studies, art history, and philosophy to consider ideas of representation in music since the nineteenth century. Tom studied at Worcester College, Oxford, as an undergraduate, and completed a DPhil in Music in 2021, supervised by Robert Saxton and Jonathan Cross. During this time, Tom also studied with Kenneth Hesketh and produced the first analytical article on his music, published in Tempo.
Since completing his doctorate, Tom has held positions at the Ashmolean Museum and The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh. During 2023-2024, he worked in the charity sector as Trusts and Foundations Manager for Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Tom is currently the Christopher Cox Junior Research Fellow at New College, Oxford, where he is completing a monograph, Photogenic Music, on art music and photography since 1839.
Tom’s music explores aspects of intermediality, as well as incorporating ideas of glitch, failure, and anxiety. His work is recorded on NMC (National Youth Choir), Métier (Kreutzer Quartet), Herald (Worcester College Choir), and his quintet, Photogenia, will feature on Mad Song Ensemble’s forthcoming debut album. Recently, Tom’s music has received praise in Gramophone (for his work Pixelating the River) and The Observer (Photogenia).
Tom’s research has been published widely, ranging from academic journal articles in Music Analysis, Music in Art, Tempo, and Leonardo, to book chapters published by Bloomsbury and Brill.
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