Tom Poster

Born in 1981, Tom Poster 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. He won First Prize at the Scottish International Piano Competition 2007, the Ensemble Prize at the Honens International Piano Competition 2009, 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 over 30 major works, including Beethoven with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, Brahms and Ligeti with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Robin Ticciati, Chopin with the European Union Chamber Orchestra, Grieg with the Hallé at Bridgewater Hall and the China National Symphony in Beijing, John Ireland with the State Capella Philharmonic in St Petersburg, Rachmaninov with the BBC Philharmonic/Yan Pascal Tortelier and BBC Scottish Symphony/James Loughran, Schumann with the Atlantic Classical Orchestra in Florida, Beethoven Triple Concerto with Southbank Sinfonia/Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Scott Bradley's Cat Concerto with Aurora Orchestra/Nicholas Collon.

Tom features regularly on BBC Radio 3 as soloist and chamber musician, and has appeared in both capacities at the BBC Proms. He has given solo recitals at the Barbican Hall and at the Brighton, City of London, Edinburgh, Presteigne and Spoleto Festivals, as well as in Canada, France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. As pianist of the Aronowitz Ensemble (former BBC New Generation Artists), he has appeared at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Aldeburgh, Bath and Cheltenham Festivals, and on several occasions at Wigmore Hall. Tom enjoys duo partnerships with Alison Balsom, Guy Johnston and Jennifer Pike, has collaborated with Ian Bostridge at the Aldeburgh Festival and Steven Isserlis at Wigmore Hall, and has performed chamber works with the Badke, Brodsky, Carducci, Doric, Elias, Endellion, Martinu, Medici, Navarra, Sacconi and Skampa Quartets.

Tom's arrangements of Gershwin and Cole Porter songs have been extensively performed and recorded. Commissions undertaken as a composer include a chamber opera for puppets, The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak, for Wattle and Daub theatre company; and a piece about unusual sea-creatures, Turn to the Watery World!, for Alison Balsom.