Tom Blomfield
Oboe
Principal Oboe
Tom grew up in North Wales where he began learning the Oboe aged 10. He studied at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music where he was taught by Rachael Pankhurst and was a member of both the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for a number of years.
Tom graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in the summer of 2017 shortly before joining the Philharmonia Orchestra as their new Joint Principal Oboe just a couple of months later at the age of 22.
While at the Academy he studied with his predecessor at the Philharmonia, Christopher Cowie and London Philharmonic principal Ian Hardwick. Tom is now a professor of oboe at the Royal Academy of Music, a role he undertook only a year following completion of his own studies there.
Tom’s career so far, outside of the Philharmonia, has led him to play Principal Oboe with The London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Aurora Orchestra and can be heard on many film and commercial soundtracks. He regularly plays and tours with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, with whom he has travelled to America and all over Europe.
While not playing music Tom can be found on the tennis court with friends; a favourite past time along with watching the sport live. He supports Chelsea Football Club and has an unhealthy (and expensive) obsession with technology – specifically Apple!
The Principal Oboe Chair is endowed in memory of Elizabeth Aitken.
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Watch a film featuring Tom Blomfield: