Canadian flautist Stephen Tam is equally comfortable as a soloist, chamber musician, or orchestral player, performing repertoire ranging from the baroque to the contemporary.  

The First-Prize Winner of the 32nd CBC/Radio-Canada National Competition for Young Performers, Stephen has appeared as a concerto soloist in recent seasons with the Canadian Sinfonietta, the Ontario Philharmonic, and Counterpoint Community Orchestra.  Past concerto engagements included collaborations with the Calgary Philharmonic, the Banff Festival Orchestra, and the Toronto Senior Strings.  His performances have been broadcast on multiple occasions nationwide on CBC Radio and on Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). 

As a chamber musician, Stephen has performed at The White House, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, and the Hong Kong Government House.  Highly regarded as an interpreter of contemporary music, Stephen is a frequent guest of the Array Ensemble, Contact Contemporary Music, New Music Concerts, Toca Loca, the Toronto New Music Projects, and 5-Penny New Music Concerts (Sudbury).

Stephen is currently the principal flute of the Canadian Sinfonietta, and regularly serves as principal flute with many orchestras and choral groups around Ontario, including the Toronto Mozart Players, the Theatre of Early Music, Pax Christi Chorale, and Cantores Celestes.  In the past, he has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Niagara Symphony, and the Ontario Philharmonic.

A dedicated and highly-respected teacher, Stephen is a flute faculty member at both the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music and Western University’s Don Wright Faculty of Music.  He also maintains a private studio in Thornhill, Ontario.

Stephen received his Master of Music in Orchestral Performance degree and the Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a student of Jeanne Baxtresser and Michael Parloff.  He also studied with Douglas Stewart at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, where he obtained his Bachelor of Music in Performance with Honours.  Stephen furthered his education by performing in masterclasses given by artists including Sir James Galway, Emmanuel Pahud, Julius Baker, William Bennett, Robert Aitken, Alain Marion, Patrick Gallois, Peter Lloyd, Jeffrey Khaner, Leone Buyse, Fenwick Smith, and Ransom Wilson.  He also received coaching in summer orchestral sessions with Doriot Anthony Dwyer, Bernard Goldberg, Joshua Smith, Camille Churchfield, and Carolyn Christie.  Stephen is indebted to Margaret Crawford and Dianne Aitken for their guidance in his formative years.