Tony Song

Biography
Influencers

Tony Song was born in South Bend, Indiana. Starting on piano at age 4, he switched to clarinet at age 9. Having discovered he had a natural talent for music, he found himself receiving numerous awards and accolades as a performer in competitions, festivals, and bands/orchestras. However, despite his love for music, and with advice from his parents, he chose to pursue an undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia in biomedical engineering. These four years of college were important to Tony for finding where his identity and passion lay. During his second year of college, he discovered the guitar by watching and learning from his college roommates and friends. Immediately, the instrument grabbed his attention, and Tony started to teach himself through the Internet and listening to CD's. His early influences included John Frusciante, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Johnson. Unsatisfied with his choice of career, Tony decided to seriously pursue a career in music after his time at U.Va. He went on to study at Berklee College of Music and graduated in the fall of 2010. While at Berklee, he was heavily influenced by jazz and studied with renowned teachers Mick Goodrick, Richie Hart, John Baboian, Hal Crook, and Ed Tomassi. He was a recipient of both the Berklee World Scholarship Tour (WST) and Berklee Achievement-based Scholarship (BAS). After Berklee, Tony spent half a year in New York and studied with Ben Monder and Adam Rogers. Tony has performed nationally and internationally and continues to be an active educator and performer in the California bay area.