Biographical Note
Born and raised in California, Julia Tom received a Bachelor’s Degree cum laude in English Literature at Harvard University while studying at the Juilliard School of Music.
As a performer criss-crossing the globe, Julia has distinguished herself as soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician. A finalist at the ARD Munich Competition, she has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras in America and Europe, including the San Francisco Symphony and Bach Society Orchestra. Her teachers include many of the most illustrious names in cello-playing and pedagogy today: she studied with Frans Helmerson, Ralph Kirshbaum and Joel Krosnick, and received further training from Yo-Yo Ma, Janos Starker and Aldo Parisot. Julia was principal cellist of the Bremer Philharmoniker, and joined the cello group of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 2010.
In recent years, Julia has turned her focus to bringing the vividness of classical music to fresh audiences. Awarded the Prix de Salon by the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 2016, she has used the award to commission and premiere new works for cello. Her prizewinning CD Origins was released by Etcetera Records in fall 2019.
Julia received her Dispokinesis teaching certification at the Gesellschaft für Dispokinesis nach G.O. van der Klashorst in Essen, Germany. She has taught this guide to efficiency and ease of movement to numerous colleagues at the Concertgebouw Orchestra, as well as to visiting guest artists, including the legendary maestro Myung-whun Chung. She is currently teaching at the University of Toronto.