Artist Profile: Tom Bopp
Tom Bopp has made his living as an entertainer since 1982, performing a wide range of piano and vocal music. In spring of 1983, Tom signed on at the historic Wawona Hotel in Yosemite National Park, and continues to perform there nightly in the hotel’s piano parlor.
While he is apt to perform anything from Celtic folk music to, as he calls it, neurotic jazz, Tom generally tries to coordinate his offerings with the feeling of the room, but somehow usually manages to segue into popular music from the first 50 years of the 20th century.
Whether he’s performing cabaret songs, antique salon music, cowboy ditties, leftovers from long-ago classical piano lessons, Depression-era tunes, or ragtime, spontaneity is the thing Tom likes best.
Tom makes his home in Fish Camp, California, with his wife, Diane, and three cats. His wife, Diane Detrick Bopp, taught art for 13 years at Beverly Hills High School before marrying Tom in 1994. Tom’s hobbies include composing (on his computer), wandering aimlessly, and delving into endless time-consuming Projects.
In January, 2006 Tom was honored by his employer, Delaware North Corporations, with the newly created Legacy Award of Service Excellence. Out of some 40,000 worldwide associates, only seven received the award -- one for each of DNC's seven divisions -- of which Tom represents Parks & Resorts. The award was presented at DNC's Spirit Of Vision Awards Gala in Orlando.
His one-man show, "Vintage Songs Of Yosemite," celebrates the first century of the Yosemite Experience through vintage music, stories, art, and photography. In addition to nightly performances at the Wawona Hotel, Tom plays during the winter at Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel, on occasion the Tenaya Lodge (just outside the park), and at various fund-raising concerts and private functions. He also performs public concerts regularly at the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, California. Tom may be contacted via his web page at YosemiteMusic.com.
Here's some video of Tom in action, performing at the Wawona Hotel:
