Biography

Tim Rumsey is a tenacious, dynamic young artist with a passion for a wide variety of music.  He is an experienced concert soloist and more recently recording artist, as well as an active an passionate chamber musician.  Delighting audiences large and small, Tim has played at venues incluing the Wigmore Hall, Chichester Cathedral the V&A Museum & the Teatro Verdi, Italy.   

Tim has recently recorded his debut album with Luminate records in July 2024.  The album showcases Tim's love of piano transcription, featuring a wide variety arrangements with everything from Percy Grainger's take on Faure, to Earl Wild's take on Gershwin.  The album also features four new transcriptions by Tim himself, with works by Purcell, Dukas, Gershwin and Walton.  The album is due for release in Spring 2025.

Recent notable performances include a concerto appearance playing Beethoven's 4th Piano Concerto with the Chichester Symphony Orchestra in Chichester Cathedral, and solo recitals at the the Pitville Pump Room in Cheltenham, St. Bride's Church in London, University Church, Oxford and the Faversham Music Club.  In addition to being a competent soloist, Tim is a keen and versatile accompanist, duo partner and chamber musician, regularly performing with friends and collaborating with string and wind players in particular.  Recent performances include works such as Arnold Bax Clarinet Sonata, both Ravel Violin Sonatas and works for trio by Khachaturian, Arutiunian and Milhaud.  

Tim's passion for arrangement has led to his debut album featuring some of his own transcriptions, however Tim also arranges for chamber settings, a recent major project being George Gershwin's 'An American in Paris' for violin, clarinet and piano which has been performed numerous times in concerts around London. Tim also finds time for composing and likes to write in a modern, post-impressionist classical style often using his Sussex rootes as an inspiration, as well as composing jazz-influenced works which he often performs himself at the keyboard.

Tim took part in the 2023 Pordenone Silent Film Festival in Italy and played a feature-length 1920s film by Harry Piel to a full audience in the famous Teatro Verdi.  Being an experienced improvisor in a wide variety of styles, Tim also plays for the Kennington Bioscope at the Cinema Museum in London for their weekend festivals.

Jazz is an equal love for Tim and he really enjoys jamming with friends as well as playing solo piano sets for events and functions around London as well as his native Sussex.  Having studied jazz piano with Dominic Alldis alongside his mainstream classical piano, Tim's jazz idols include Bill Evans, Erroll Garner & George Shearing.

Teaching takes up lots of Tim's time, both privately and in schools, which he enjoys greatly and finds extremely fulfilling.  Tim teaches at the prestigious St. Catherine's school in Bramley, as well as teaching and accompanying both soloists and choirs at the Junior & Primary Departments of the Royal Academy of Music.

In the past, Tim has played as a ballet pianist at the ABC Ballet School in London for over five years and has also played at the English National Ballet School for the Intensive Summer Courses.  

Tim's interest in music unsurprisingly started at a young age, and he progressed from having music lessons locally to studying at the Junior Department at the Royal Academy of Music age 13.  He went on to study at the Academy full time in 2017, completing his Bachelor’s degree with First Class Honours in July 2021, studying with Carole Presland.  Being the Wisniewski/Derwent scholar for his Master of Arts degree under the guidance of his professor Colin Stone from 2021-23, Tim graduated with the the additional award of Diploma of the Royal Academy of Music (DipRAM) due to his high performance and attainment.  Tim also gained the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music teaching qualification in the Summer of 2021.