Tim Fain
Tim Fain is an American violinist and composer, best known for his performances in the feature film soundtracks to Black Swan, 12 Years a Slave, and Moonlight, and his work with American composer Philip Glass. Early life and education A native of Santa Monica, California, Fain is the son of Gordon and Margery Fain. He began studying violin at age of seven with his father, a neurophysiologist at University of California, Los Angeles, and at age of 10, he performed Beethoven’s Spring Sonata for his fifth-grade classmates. While living with his family in Cambridge, UK during middle school, Fain studied under Haroutune Bedelian at the Royal Conservatory of Music in London. After returning to the US for high school, Fain attended Crossroads School for the Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica. He also participated in a pre-college program for violin masterclasses and lessons at the Colburn School. He received formal higher education in music at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and The Juilliard School. During his education, Fain studied and collaborated under prominent musicians and pedagogues such as Victor Danchenko, Felix Galimir, Richard Goode and Robert Mann. As a young instrumentalist, Fain launched his career with Young Concert Artists and was awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant. Live performances In 2007, Fain performed Aaron Jay Kernis' violin concerto Lament and Prayer with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop. He performed Philip Glass' Concerto No. 2, "The American Four Seasons" with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Christoph König. Fain reunited in 2006 with musicians from his alma mater, Curtis Symphony Orchestra, to perform Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Major, conducted by Otto-Werner Mueller in Philadelphia at the Kimmel Center. Fain was a member of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center from 2000 to 2002 and has performed with the society on multiple occasions since. In 2015 he performed works by Schumann, Lasser, and Bach alongside Simone Dinnerstein at National Sawdust. Fain has performed several other times with Dinnerstein. In 2015 Fain guest-conducted and performed the solo violin for Max Richter’s Vivaldi Recomposed and Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons with the Spanish National Orchestra at the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid. Also in 2015, Fain performed for the 14th Dalai Lama on his 80th Birthday at the Peak Mind Foundation Summit. Fain appeared at the 2019 KIND gala alongside Daily Show host Trevor Noah, performing musical accompaniment to poetry and rap performances by former refugees from the Congo and El Salvador. In 2017, he performed Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto No. 2, “The American Four Seasons", with the American Composers Orchestra at their 40th Anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall. Also in 2017, Fain performed at the Vatican. In 2018, Fain performed Glass’ Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, conducted by Marin Alsop, with cellist Matt Haimovitz at the Cabrillo Festival. In 2019, Fain performed works by Bach, Glass, and Mozart with cellist Denise Djokic and pianist Andrew Armstrong at the Scotia Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Fain made his