Tom McDonald has been a violinist in the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra since 1976, and he is also a member of the Conway Symphony Orchestra.  Tom served the Pine Bluff Symphony as assistant conductor, concertmaster, principal second, and youth orchestra conductor at different periods throughout its 25-year history.

Tom McDonald was an orchestra director in the Little Rock Public Schools from 1978 to 2015.  He taught at Central, Hall, J. A. Fair, and Parkview High Schools as well as Dunbar, Henderson, Mann, Mabelvale, and Pulaski Heights Middle Schools.

Tom has conducted the Arkansas Symphony Academy Youth Orchestra since 1998, and he has served on the music faculty at Arkansas Governor's School since 2000.