Described by The Times as a violinist “who held us rapt in daring and undaunted performances” and by The Guardian as a performer of “fearless intensity”, Tamsin Waley-Cohen enjoys an adventurous and varied career. She has performed with Orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Orchestra of the Swan, Budapest Philharmonic, Graz Kammerphilharmonie, under conductors including; Andrew Litton Tamas Vasary and Nicolae Moldoveanu. Performances have taken her across Europe, New Zealand and to the USA.
In demand as a recitalist, Tamsin enjoys a duo partnership with pianist Huw Watkins, with whom she has released three CD recordings. Tamsin’s most recent disc is Vaughan Williams’ Lark Ascending and Violin Concerto in D minor, with Orchestra of the Swan and David Curtis.
Her love of chamber music led her to form the Honeymead Ensemble and the Honeymead Festival on Exmoor. She is also Artistic Director of the Sunday Series at London’s Tricycle Theatre, for which she was named one of Evening Standard’s 1000 most influential Londoners.
In 2015 she will be premiering a new concerto by Dobrinka Tabakova and a Suite for Solo Violin by Joseph Phibbs. Together with her sister, the composer Freya Waley-Cohen, she will be embarking on a residency at Aldeburgh with the architects Finbarr O’Dempsey and Andrew Skulina, for a project exploring the relationship between sound and space.
Tamsin Waley-Cohen was born in London in 1986. She became a Foundation Scholar, studying with Itzhak Rashkovsky, at the Royal College of Music where she won all available awards, including – twice – the concerto competition, and was their String Player of the Year in 2005.
Since 2007 she has played the 1721 ex-Fenyves Stradivarius violin.
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