British composer and pianist, Tom Armitage gave his first piano recital aged eleven and conducted his first orchestral compositions at the age of thirteen. Having been awarded a Licentiate of the London College of Music in Piano Performance, he studied piano and composition at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the University of Malta.

It was at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire that he studied with Fumiko Miyachi, Michael Wolters, award-winning composer Errollyn Wallen MBE, and celebrated and acclaimed Irish concert pianist, Philip Martin. Thanks to a scholarship from Benslow Music, he also studied with Michael Finnissy and Howard Skempton.

Tom has won many awards as a pianist and a composer, and has performed at music festivals across several countries. Tom has broadcast for the BBC and has performed with orchestras and companies such as the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra, Thallein Ensemble, Żfin Malta National Dance Company, POW Ensemble (Netherlands), and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.

He won the Icarus Composition Competition (2011) with his piece ‘In Paradisum’ for choir, and was shortlisted for an award in the annual Composer’s Award held by the National Centre for Early Music in York (2008) and the Philip Bates Prize (2013), among others. His music has been performed around Europe, Australia, Japan, and the Middle East, and he has written for performers and ensembles such the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Teatru Manoel Youth Opera, Hull Urban Opera, Orchestra of the Swan, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, the Schubert Ensemble, CHROMA, Decibel, the Ebor Singers, Malta Youth Orchestra String Quartet, pianists Michael Finnissy and Jonathan Powell, flautist Roland Sutherland, soprano Mary Wiegold, violinist David le Page, and saxophonist Naomi Sullivan, among others.

In 2017, his opera ‘Isperanza’ was premiered at Teatru Manoel. His second opera, a childrens’ opera produced with SOPA, ‘The Legend of the Blue Lady’ was given the Arts Council ‘Best Practice Award’ in 2018. His piano piece ‘Twinkling’ is included on the album ’70 More Variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ played by acclaimed Australian pianist, Michael Kieran Harvey. Tom has had piano music published by Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press. A champion of Occitan music and culture, he has released a recording of his large-scale piano piece, ‘March 16th, 1244’ on iTunes.

Now residing permanently in Malta, Tom was Head of Keyboard Studies at the Birmingham Music School. He now works as a répétiteur and performs prolifically as a performer of new music, having given over 100 world premieres of pieces by living composers worldwide. He is a founding member of For Your Ears Only!, a platform for composers and performers of experimental music on the Maltese islands.