British-American violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen is known for her visceral and deeply expressive performances in repertoire spanning six centuries. With musical storytelling central to her approach, she has gained a reputation for her “undeniably-fabulous playing” (Classical Source) and poetic performances that go straight to the heart. In addition to concerts with the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Hallé, LiverpoolPhilharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Royal Northern Sinfonia and BBC orchestras, amongst others, she has twice been associate artist with the Orchestra of the Swan and worked with conductors including Andrew Litton, Vasily Petrenko, Ben Gernon, Ryan Bancroft and Tamás Vásáry.
Her duo partners include James Baillieu, Huw Watkins, Cordelia Williams and George Fu. She is thrilled to be a Signum Classics Artist, for whom she has recorded over 10 albums to great critical acclaim “her interpretation is technically beyond reproach and musically imaginative" (Gramophone). With her sister, composer Freya Waley-Cohen, and architects Finbarr O’Dempsey and Andrew Skulina, she held an Open Space residency at Aldeburgh, culminating in the 2017 premiere of Permutations at the Aldeburgh Festival, an interactive performance artwork synthesising music and architecture. Her love of chamber music led her to start the Honeymead Festival, now in its 17th year, from which all proceeds go to support local charities.
Her interest in working with living composers and the music of today has led to premieres of works written for her by composers including Oliver Knussen, Huw Watkins, Dobrinka Tabokova, Freya Waley-Cohen, Richard Causton, Joseph Phibbs, Richard Blackford, and Deborah Pritchard amongst others.
She was the UK recipient of the ECHO Rising Stars Awards, touring all the major concert halls of Europe. She has also toured Japan, China and New Zealand and made her North American New York, San Francisco and Washington debuts. She was a founding member of the Albion string quartet, and appeared regularly with them at venues including Wigmore Hall, Aldeburgh Festival, and the Concertgebouw.
She is Artistic Director of the Two Moors Festival, and has previously been Artistic Director of the Music Series at the Tricycle Theatre, London, and the Bargello festival in Florence. She studied at the Royal College of Music and her teachers included Itzhak Rashkovsky, Ruggiero Ricci and András Keller.
“..passion and musical imagination throughout, the fiendish multiple stops and alternations between bowed and plucked notes assured in tone and precise in intonation.” BBC Music Magazine
"...severe demands on the violin soloists technique, which Tamsin Waley-Cohen takes in her stride" Andrew Benson-Wilson
"Waley-Cohen captures the score's spirit of infectious bonhomie to perfection, and brings an air of uncluttered simplicity and ingenuousness to the Four Romantic Pieces, creating the bracing impression of inspired improvisation." The Strad
"impressively well-developed six part musical composition of intense counterpoint " Early Music Today
"Waley-Cohen's devotion to her cause is palpable, and her interpretative flair likewise " The Sunday Times
"...her bow rasping on the string in the composer's passionate flights, her sound meltingly beautiful and fragile in his graceful melodies" The Strad
"she finds a convincing interplay between period-style non-vibrato and dreamy sensuality " BBC Music Magazine
