Biography
Thomas Gould, a violinist equally at home on acoustic and electric instruments, moves fluidly between classical and jazz idioms. He serves as co-leader of the Britten Sinfonia alongside Jacqueline Shave.
London-born in 1983, Gould was drawn to the violin by his sister Clio, fifteen years his senior and leader of both the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta. He began studies at the Royal Academy of Music at sixteen under György Pauk and was appointed an Associate of the school in 2009. International visibility increased after he toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2011. Gould performed Nico Muhly’s Seeing Is Believing on six-string electric violin with the Aurora Orchestra and supplied the world-premiere recording of the work for Decca that year; he also directed the ensemble through the 2010s. His Los Angeles Philharmonic debut took place in 2012 under John Adams. Appearances with major orchestras in Britain, the United States, and elsewhere have followed, including engagements with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, and the Riga Sinfonietta, while chamber work has involved the Nash Ensemble and other groups.
Gould appears regularly in jazz settings at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London and has worked with Brad Mehldau, Radiohead, and Rufus Wainwright. He was once a member of the swing quintet Man Overboard. He assumed leadership of the Britten Sinfonia in the early 2010s and continues in that capacity as co-leader.
His recording career opened in 2009 with Christopher Ball’s violin concerto on the Omnibus album Celtic Twilight. Subsequent releases have appeared on Harmonia Mundi, Albion, and Champs Hill, the last of which issued Bach to Parker in 2014, an album reflecting the range of his musical interests. In 2021 he contributed to the second of two Albion recordings devoted to Ralph Vaughan Williams’s folk-song-inspired music.
London-born in 1983, Gould was drawn to the violin by his sister Clio, fifteen years his senior and leader of both the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta. He began studies at the Royal Academy of Music at sixteen under György Pauk and was appointed an Associate of the school in 2009. International visibility increased after he toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2011. Gould performed Nico Muhly’s Seeing Is Believing on six-string electric violin with the Aurora Orchestra and supplied the world-premiere recording of the work for Decca that year; he also directed the ensemble through the 2010s. His Los Angeles Philharmonic debut took place in 2012 under John Adams. Appearances with major orchestras in Britain, the United States, and elsewhere have followed, including engagements with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, and the Riga Sinfonietta, while chamber work has involved the Nash Ensemble and other groups.
Gould appears regularly in jazz settings at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London and has worked with Brad Mehldau, Radiohead, and Rufus Wainwright. He was once a member of the swing quintet Man Overboard. He assumed leadership of the Britten Sinfonia in the early 2010s and continues in that capacity as co-leader.
His recording career opened in 2009 with Christopher Ball’s violin concerto on the Omnibus album Celtic Twilight. Subsequent releases have appeared on Harmonia Mundi, Albion, and Champs Hill, the last of which issued Bach to Parker in 2014, an album reflecting the range of his musical interests. In 2021 he contributed to the second of two Albion recordings devoted to Ralph Vaughan Williams’s folk-song-inspired music.
Albums
Experience (Arr. Lawson for Ensemble)
2024
this is what love is
2022
Sienna
2021
Gavin Higgins: Ekstasis
2021
Vaughan Williams: Folk Songs, Vol. 2
2021
Violin Concerto in A Minor, BWV 1041
2019
Triplicity
2016
Bach to Parker
2014
Singles
