Tom Poster

Tom Poster is internationally recognised as a pianist of outstanding artistry and extraordinary versatility. Equally in demand as soloist and chamber musician, he has established himself as a sensitive and passionate interpreter of an unusually extensive repertoire. He has been described as “an unparalleled sound-magician” (General-Anzeiger), “a pianist of distinction” (The Times), and as possessing “great authority and astounding virtuosity” (Est Républicain). He won First Prize at the Scottish International Piano Competition 2007, the Ensemble Prize at the Honens International Piano Competition, and the keyboard sections of the Royal Over-Seas League and BBC Young Musician of the Year Competitions in 2000.

Since his London concerto debut at the age of 13, Tom has appeared in a wide-ranging concerto repertoire of 30 major works, with orchestras and conductors including the BBC Philharmonic/Yan Pascal Tortelier, BBC Scottish Symphony/James Loughran, Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Robin Ticciati, Southbank Sinfonia/Vladimir Ashkenazy, China National Symphony/En Shao, Atlantic Classical Orchestra (Florida)/Stewart Robertson, St Petersburg State Capella Philharmonic and European Union Chamber Orchestra. In addition to his much-admired interpretations of the standard repertoire, this season Tom tours Scotland performing Ligeti’s fiendishly virtuosic concerto and appears at the Snape Proms in the UK premiere of Scott Bradley’s Cat Concerto, whose original soloists were Tom and Jerry in a celebrated 1946 MGM animated short.

Tom features regularly on BBC Radio 3 as soloist and chamber musician, and appeared in both capacities at the BBC Proms in 2008 and 2009. He has given solo recitals at concert halls and festivals throughout the UK, in Bonn, Calgary, Hamburg, Leipzig, Lugano, Paris and the Channel Islands, and on several occasions at the Spoleto Festival, by invitation of the late Gian Carlo Menotti. As pianist of the Aronowitz Ensemble (BBC New Generation Artists 2006-2008), he has appeared at the Wigmore and Bridgewater Halls and the Aldeburgh, Bath and Cheltenham Festivals. He also enjoys recital partnerships with Alison Balsom, Guy Johnston and Jennifer Pike, and has collaborated with the Brodsky, Endellion, Medici, Sacconi and Skampa Quartets.

Well-known for his readiness to face a challenge, Tom once rushed across London to perform the Grieg Concerto at only three hours’ notice, and recently replaced Lang Lang as guest soloist in a Proms Educational Event at less than a day’s notice. He is also in demand as a lecture-recitalist, has presented programmes on Beethoven and Schumann for BBC Radio Scotland, and is former Artistic Director of Chacombe Music Festival. He has appeared as Reciter in Walton’s Façade, performed and recorded his own Gershwin and Cole Porter arrangements in the UK and Germany, and had his compositions performed extensively, including two chamber operas written when he was twelve. Recent commissions include a one-act musical for puppets, The Oldest Man in the World, for his brother Tobi’s theatre company, Wattle and Daub, and a new work for Alison Balsom.

Born in 1981, Tom studied with Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he held a Postgraduate Fellowship, and at King’s College, Cambridge, where he gained a Double First in Music.

Click here to download Tom Poster’s biography as a PDF file.

Click here to download Tom Poster’s shorter biography as a PDF file.