Bio
Whether appearing as soloist with the Pittsburgh and Baltimore Symphonies, Hague Philharmonic, and National Orchestra of Spain; performing on feature film soundtracks, including Moonlight, 12 Years a Slave, and Black Swan; composing for a wide array of different projects in film, concert music and extended media; giving solo recitals at the Vatican, for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, or at the Ravinia Festival; or collaborating with Google on a video for his composition Resonance to announce new virtual reality technology for YouTube, violinist and composer Tim Fain has one of the most wildly diverse careers in the music industry. He is recognized for his adventuresome spirit, vast musical gifts, and dazzling versatility in extensive repertoire from Mozart to Muhly.
Launching his career with Young Concert Artists and an Avery Fisher Career Grant, he electrified audiences in performances with the Chautauqua, and Cabrillo Symphonies, American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival and with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Fain has also appeared with the Baltimore (with Alsop), Mexico City, Tucson, Oxford (UK), and Cincinnati Chamber Symphonies, Brooklyn, Buffalo and Hague Philharmonics, was the featured soloist with the Philip Glass Ensemble at Carnegie Hall in a concert version of Einstein on the Beach and continues to tour the US and Europe in a duo-recital program with Philip Glass. He recently premiered his new violin concerto, Edge of A Dream, with conductor Jacomo Bairos and the Amarillo Symphony, and looks forward to more performances in upcoming seasons.
Fain has been heard in recital at Amsterdam’s venerable Concertgebouw, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Kennedy Center, Mexico’s Festival de Musica de Camara in San Miguel de Allende, Carnegie’s Weill Hall, California’s Carmel Mozart Society, Boston’s Ives Festival, The Broad Stage, Ringling International Festival in Sarasota, the San Diego Art Institute, University of California at Davis, Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd St Y, Symphony Space, Canberra Festival (Australia) and beyond. A sought-after chamber musician, he performed at the Filharmonia Szczecin’s MDF Festival (Poland), Scotia Festival (Canada), and at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New York’s Bargemusic, Chamber Music Northwest, and at the Spoleto (Italy), Bridgehampton, Santa Fe, Caramoor, Bard, Lucerne (Switzerland), “Bravo” Vail Valley, Moab, and Martha’s Vineyard Festivals, and has toured nationally with Musicians from Marlboro.
His multi-media evening Portals premiered to sold-out audiences in New York, Los Angeles and at its Midwestern premiere at Omaha’s KANEKO, and has been seen at Australia’s Melbourne Festival, Le Lieu Unique in France and continues to travel world-wide. The centerpiece of the evening is Partita for Solo Violin, a new work written especially for him by Philip Glass, and also features collaborations with Benjamin Millepied, Leonard Cohen, film maker Kate Hackett, and with radio personality Fred Child and composer Nicholas Britell appearing on screen. It also includes music of Pulitzer Prize winners Kernis, Bolcom, and Puts along with works of Muhly, and Zhurbin.
A dynamic and compelling performer in traditional works, he is also a fervent champion of 20th and 21st century composers, with a repertoire ranging widely from Beethoven and Tchaikovsky to Aaron Jay Kernis and John Corigliano; as the Los Angeles Times recently noted, his career “is based, in part, on new music and new ways of thinking about classical music.” Fain’s discography features River of Light (Naxos), which showcases modern virtuosic short works for violin and piano by living American composers; Arches, which reflects Fain’s inquisitive passion and intellect and combining old and new solo works; and The Concerto Project IV with the Hague Philharmonic featuring Philip Glass’s Double Concerto for violin and cellist Wendy Sutter; Tim Fain Plays Philip Glass (both on Orange Mountain Music), and First Loves, with repertoire he fell in love with as a child from Sarasate to Wieniawski. Upcoming is Unravelling, featuring world premiere recordings of Corigliano, Monk, Salonen, Dessner and Fain himself.
Fain has collaborated with an eclectic array of artists from Pinchas Zukerman and Richard Goode, to Jean-Yves Thibaudet to Mitsuko Uchida, Katia Labèque, Simone Dinnerstein, the Mark Morris Dance Group, Seán Curran Company, and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, and appeared onstage with the New York City Ballet, performing alongside the dancers in the acclaimed premiere of Benjamin Millepied’s “Double Aria.” Never limited by genre, Fain has also worked with Christina Aguilera, jazz pianist Ethan Iverson (The Bad Plus), Joanna Newsom, Bryce Dessner (The National), Matchbox Twenty singer-songwriter Rob Thomas at Jazz at Lincoln Center, rapper Rahzel, and James Blake.
Always at the forefront of technology, Fain has worked on a number of boundary-pushing projects including a musical score for a new Virtual Reality TV series through Samsung and a collaboration with Google on a VR music video for his composition, Resonance, which introduced its 360 stereoscopic VR capability for YouTube to the world, subsequently shown at The Sundance Film Festival. He also composed music for a virtual experience, Flock, which premiered at The Future of Storytelling in NYC; collaborated Symmetry Labs on an LED light installation project which was the subject of a documentary featured on BBC and PBS; and performed with Shimon, an improvising, marimba-playing AI robot. He recently scored the stop-motion short film Los Huesos, which won the Best Short Film award at Venice Film Festival.
A native of Santa Monica, California, Tim Fain is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and The Juilliard School. He performs on a Francesco Gobetti violin from Venice (1717), the “Moller,” on extended loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the generous efforts of the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
Avery Fisher Career Grant-winning violinist TIM FAIN, is seen on screen and heard in the Grammy-nominated soundtrack to the film Black Swan, heard on the soundtrack to Oscar-winning film Moonlight, and gave “voice” to the violin of the lead actor in hit film 12 Years a Slave, as he did with Richard Gere’s violin in the film Bee Season. Recipient of the Young Concert Artists International Award, he has appeared internationally as soloist with the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Baltimore Symphony and Cabrillo Festival with Marin Alsop, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Pittsburgh, Hague and Buffalo Philharmonics, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestras, and National Orchestra of Spain. His recitals have taken him to the world’s major music capitals, he has toured with Musicians from Marlboro, and as a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and around the globe in a duo-recital program with Philip Glass. His multi-media solo evening Portals premiered to sold-out audiences on both coasts and continues to travel world-wide. The evening includes a new work written for him by Philip Glass, and features collaborations with Benjamin Millepied, Leonard Cohen, filmmaker Kate Hackett, composer/pianist Nicholas Britell, and radio personality Fred Child. He has collaborated with an eclectic array of artists from Pinchas Zukerman and Mitsuko Uchida, to the Mark Morris Dance Group and New York City Ballet, Iggy Pop, Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20), Bryce Dessner (The National), and he has performed for the Dalai Lama and at the Vatican. His discography includes River of Light (Naxos), Philip Glass: The Concerto Project IV with the Hague Philharmonic and Tim Fain plays Philip Glass (both on OMM), and First Loves (VIA).
Tim Fain performs on a violin made by Francesco Gobetti, Venice 1717, the “Möller,” on extended loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the generous efforts of the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
Press
Quotes About Tim Fain
“In Baltimore, the soloist was the formidable virtuoso Tim Fain [Kernis Lament and Prayer], who swayed balletically as he dug into the score.”
“…breathtaking virtuosity, a strong sensitivity to the music’s diverse elements, and a nuance that gives each bow stroke a slightly different personality.”
“Exceptional…The recording [Lou Harrison Grand Duo] Is simply magnificent. Tim Fain and Michael Boriskin are soloists of great class….”
“In his Pittsburgh Symphony debut, Mr. Fain offered the piece’s almost Romantic melodies with a mellow, ribbon-like tone. His quiet, unsentimental take on the main theme of the second movement [Glass Concerto]Fain carried that melody like a breeze. A heaving vibrato closed the movement, puncturing its early triumph with sobs. With a quicksilver bow arm, the violinist offered equal facility in the rollicking syncopation of the finale, which seemed to elicit the verdant fertility of spring.”
“…a combination of power, precision and deeply expressive playing (with) crystal-clear articulation and razor-sharp accuracy.”
“Fain’s performance of [Bernstein Serenade] with the Buffalo Philharmonic was masterful. The result displayed Bernstein (and Fain) at their most beguiling as drama and release alternated over the course of the work’s five movements. It all ended with a big finish and a standing ovation.”
“Simply put, Fain’s playing was transcendent; the sheer difficulty of the piece, combined with his flawless execution left the most indelible impression from the entire evening.”
“A charismatic young prize-winning violinist, Tim Fain is a tall string bean of a fellow with a matinee idol profile, strong musical instincts, and first rate chops.”
“Timothy Fain delivered one of the best performances of the Beethoven Violin Concerto I’ve ever heard. It was strong, beautifully shaded, and intensely emotional.”
“Tim Fain’s performance [Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2] was expressive, brilliant and elegant.”
“What brought the audience to its feet demanding three encores was his sheer youthful exuberance and dazzling technical skill.”
“…a by-god spellbinder…those who think the violin has become as irrelevant…those who ardently pray for a reawakening of interest in it among composers, and those who enjoy exploring little-known literature – these will find an additional award in Fain’s playing of Bach should find the recital irresistible.”
“Playing from memory, Fain tore through the furious double stops, rhapsodic melodic flights and other flourishes like a possessed dervish. If you didn’t know all the music was written down, you’d have thought the fiddle virtuoso was improvising the entire piece. You had to hear it to believe it. Fain was astonishing.”
“Fain has the honeyed tone, spectacular technique and engrossing musicality of an old-school virtuoso tied to a contemporary sensibility.”
“Fain brought technical finesse, lyrical ardor and cagey control to his alluring performance [Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1]…the brilliant American violinist gave a rippling, zestful account of the scherzo and dispatched the streams of intricate scales and ornate passagework of the final Moderato with ease. A hit with the audience, this boyish virtuoso offered a sizable solo encore, “Arches…” a 10-minute, volatile and technically arduous work by the American composer Kevin Puts, and he played it scintillatingly.”
“Violinist Tim Fain plays like a virtuoso and thinks like a cinematographer. The show, Portals, is a smart mix of sound and vision for the Facebook age who love Bjork and Beethoven with equal ardor.”
Articles About Tim Fain
Sunday, November 19, 2017 at 3:00PM
Tim Fain performs the Dvorak Violin Concerto with the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle at the Carolina Theatre of Durham in North Carolina.
In a short feature in Millennial Magazine, Nexus chatted with Tim Fain, whom they note “combines exquisite talent with a cutting-edge mindset.”
When you program a Glass violin concerto — as the Pittsburgh Symphony did — you can’t do much better than tasking Mr. Fain with its interpretation.
Terry Robbins reviewed Tim Fain’s CD “Partita” calling it “a revelation [and] a marvelous CD.”
Tim Fain’s combination of Power, precision and deeply expressive playing has made his recordings almost as ubiquitous as Glass’s music. Chances are that you have already heard his distinctive violin on soundtracks to Black Swan or Twelve Years a Slave, but there are far more strings to this violinist’s bow than film music.
In the Boston Globe’s preview of Fain’s multimedia project”Portals, ” it was noted that two distinct catalysts went into the creation of “Portals,”…One is his enthusiasm for American composers; the second is Fain’s fascination with the digital era and its effect on social relations.
In Fain’s Portals, the Sydney Morning Herald says he “allows the music to breathe organically, shaping each movement with expressive lyricism and exquisite beauty.”
Violinist Tim Fain and pianist Michael Boriskin collaborated on a duo program for Virtuosi Concerts at the University of Winnipeg in a program of Franck, Brahms, Beethoven and American composer Pierre Jalbert.
Photos
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Media
Tim Fain – Mendelssohn Double Concerto
Recorded Live from Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Tim Fain performs Mendelssohn's Double Concerto with pianist Mariangela Vacatello.
Tim Fain – Glass Double Concerto For Violin, Cello And Orchestra Part I
A track from Philip Glass' Double Concerto For Violin, Cello And Orchestra performed by Tim Fain, cellist Wendy Sutter, and The Hague Philharmonic conducted by Jurjen Hempel, on an album recorded for Orange Mountain Music.
Tim Fain – Wieniawski Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16
Tim Fain, accompanied by pianist Robert Koenig, performs Wieniawski's Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16 on his album "First Loves."
PORTALS Official Trailer – Tim Fain, violin
PORTALS: a live multimedia exploration of longing and connection in the digital age with violinist Tim Fain, Philip Glass, Benjamin Millepied, Leonard Cohen, Kate Hackett, Nico Muhly, Fred Child, Nicholas Britell, etc. www.portalsproject.com
Tim Fain plays “Knee Play 2” from Philip Glass’ Einstein on the Beach
Tim Fain performs Knee Play 2, the hair-raising violin solo from Einstein On The Beach by American composer Philip Glass. Live concert footage from the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum, NYC.
Tim Fain Collaborates with Google – RESONANCE: A Jump VR Video
Tim Fain collaborates with Google on a music video for his composition, Resonance, introducing 360 stereoscopic VR capability for YouTube to the world, which subsequently was shown at The Sundance Film Festival.
Tim Fain – Barber Violin Concerto
Audio of Tim Fain performing the Barber Violin Concerto, 1st movement.
Tim Fain – Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro
Tim Fain, accompanied by pianist Robert Koenig, performs Kreisler's Praeludium and Allegro on his album "First Loves."
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Discography
Original Soundtrack from the film "Munch" about the Norwegian painter, composed and performed by Tim Fain.
It's that time of year! Two arrangements (and one mashup) of holiday tunes.
DJ Spooky's "Autumn" from Heart of a Forest, reimagined, recomposed and remixed by Tim Fain. Released in celebration of EARTH DAY 2021.
Hope is a song by Tim Fain and Sleeping At Last about the strength of vulnerable children in foster care and orphanages.
Isolation is a single release of a composition by Andrew John Kosinski, a quiet and powerful expression of the physical and emotional isolation so many were dealing with as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A collaboration with guitarist Giovanni Piacentini, this EP was recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic with Piacentini and Fain playing/recording their parts in separate states across the country.
Tim Fain's single release of Hallelujah, a cover of the sublime song by Leonard Cohen.
Glacial, for violin and orchestra, was composed as a wedding gift for friends getting married in Antarctica and subsequently used to celebrate Earth Day 2020.