Thomas MARTIN
One of the world's most famous bassists, Thomas Martin studied in the United States with Harold Roberts, Oscar Zimmerman and Roger Scott. He has held front desk positions with the Buffalo and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras and principal positions with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, English Chamber Orchestra, CBSO and the London Symphony Orchestra. for many years.
In recent years he has pursued an ever-growing interest in solo playing, appearing in recitals and concertos with orchestras around the world. He has made a number of TV and television appearances featuring a wide variety of repertoire ranging from Baroque to the 20th century and has performed and recorded most of the chamber music for his instrument.
He made a series of recordings of the music of Giovanni Bottesini, the great 19th century virtuoso, which met with great critical acclaim. His recordings in the Bottesini series with Anthony Halstead received Gramophone Magazine's Record of the Year award, and his recording with the English Chamber Orchestra was chosen as Record of the Year by The Sunday Times. In 2008, the famous series was re-released in Naxos.
Tom has an impressive class at the Royal Birmingham Conservatory, where he was recently honored with the school's scholarship. He was for many years Principal Professor of Double Bass at the Guildhall School of Music in London and Professor at the Royal College of Music in London. He is constantly asked to give masterclasses abroad and his students find themselves all over the world. He is responsible for a large number of editions of music for double bass, notably for the International Music Company, New York.
Tom is often invited to serve on juries for international competitions, with recent appearances in Moscow, Geneva, Cremona, Bucharest, Munich, Ludwigslust, St. Petersburg and Markneukirchen.
As a conductor, Tom studied with Sian Edwards in London and with Stephen Darlington in Oxford. He recently completed the first recording of the masterful Messa da Requiem by Bottesini with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, choir and soloists, which was released on Naxos.
Tom studied violin making with Andrew Dipper and made 166 basses before going into business with his son to form Thomas and George Martin Violin Makers in 2008.