Tam graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with a Master of Arts degree, where he studied under Diana Cummings. He previously read Music as an undergraduate at King’s College London where, in his final year, he gained a place on the prestigious Advanced Performance Studies course. In his final year at KCL, Tam was also awarded the LRAM professional diploma from the Royal Academy of Music.
Tam has an active life as a musician, performing as an orchestral violinist, chamber musician and soloist. In recent years, he has performed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, and Mozart’s Violin Concerto in D major with orchestra. Tam has taken part in masterclasses with the great pedagogue Charles Castleman, Thomas Brandis, Thomas Gould, Jeremy Menuhin, and most recently with Professor Yair Kless in a week of classes in Gniezno, Poland. He has also recently been invited to play with the Ljubljana International Orchestra as part of the Branimir Slokar Academy.
Tam also enjoys playing regularly with other London-based orchestras such as the Docklands Sinfonia, London Firebird Orchestra, London Musical Arts Orchestra, and Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, as well as further afield with the St. Endellion Festival Orchestra and Festival Chamber Orchestra, Canterbury.
Tam plays on a 1910 violin of Leandro Bisiach, generously on loan from the Benslow Instrument Loan Scheme.
If you could play another instrument, what would it be and why?
The cello – it has an incredible repertoire and history of great cellists, some of whom have made recordings that are amongst my favourite of all time. It also has a crucial role in the orchestral and chamber music; especially in the string quartet, it’s really the cello that is the bottle that contains and supports the fine wine inside, and on which the label is placed.
What is your earliest musical memory?
Trying to play my big sister’s violin when I was about three years old. I seem to remember managing a few open strings, and also wearing Rupert Bear trousers!