Tamsin Waley-Cohen

About this artist

Tamsin Waley-Cohen is a British violinist, known primarily as a concerto soloist and recitalist. She studied as a Foundation Scholar at the Royal College of Music with Itzhak Rashkovsky. Along with receiving many prizes and twice winning the college’s concerto competition, she was named String Player of the Year in 2005. Among her other competition victories were the Royal Overseas League String Prize in 2005 and the J & A Beare Solo Bach Competition in 2007. Since she was 16, she has been a regular participant at the International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove, where she attended the master classes of Ida Haendel, Igor Ozim, and Ruggiero Ricci. In concert, Waley-Cohen has appeared with the various BBC orchestras, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Swan, and performed under the direction of Andrew Litton and Tamás Vásáry. As a recitalist, Waley-Cohen has performed with Huw Watkins, Tom Poster, and Simon Crawford-Philips. She also plays with cellist Gemma Rosefield and has appeared with Heinz Holliger, Andreas Haefliger, and Anssi Kartonnen. As a chamber musician, she founded the Honeymead Ensemble, which was in residence at the Tricycle Theatre in London from 2011-2012, as well as at the Honeymead Festival on Exmoor. She has been a guest artist at many festivals, including the Cheltenham Music Festival, the Festival Orchestre Giovanili of the Academia San Felice, the Florence Chamber Music Festival, the Red Violin Festival, the Two Moors International Festival, and the Stift and Presteigne Festival. She made her American debut with the Mendelssohn Concerto at the Bowdoin Festival. Waley-Cohen has recorded for Champs Hill Records and Signum Classics. ~ Blair Sanderson