Bio
A native of Toronto, violinist Praise Lam is a highly sought-after musician known for her adaptability in both solo and collaborative performances and her ability to merge classical and contemporary approaches into a myriad of art forms. Her performances as an award-winning violinist has taken her from her hometown stages in Canada to appearances in Hollywood’s 20th Century Fox Newman Scoring Stage in Los Angeles, California.
For almost 20 years, Praise was a core member of Sinfonia Toronto, one of Canada’s finest virtuoso chamber orchestras whose successful international tours have been received with critical acclaim. Praise resigned from the orchestra in 2022 to pursue new musical endeavours.
As a well-known freelancer in the orchestral scene, Praise has performed with Brantford Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Sinfonietta, Elora Festival Orchestra, Georgian Bay Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Huronia Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Niagara Symphony, Sinfonia Mississauga, Scarborough Philharmonic, Sudbury Symphony, Talisker Players, Toronto Concert Orchestra, Toronto Operetta Theatre, Toronto Philharmonia, Via Salzburg, Windsor Symphony, and Opera York.
As a pit musician, Praise has enjoyed the opportunity to play in the Toronto Mirvish runs of Phantom of the Opera and The Sound of Music. Other supporting stage highlights include performing with international sensations Sarah Brightman, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, Rod Stewart, and Sigur Ros. Her studio session work can be heard on award-winning video games (Cuphead) as well as original commissions for book launch promos (Nine Dash Line by Emily Saso).
Highly regarded for her improvisational skills, Praise has also been able to showcase her performances on a national platform. Her fearless journey as a fusion artist has allowed her to perform and record with a myriad of award-winning Canadian talent: Devah Quartet, Kaeja d’Dance, Rose Cousins, Terra Lightfoot, Mike Janzen, Alex Pangman, Diana Panton, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Sarah Slean, The Tenors, Leif Vollebekk, and Tom Wilson, to name a few.
Classically trained from the age of 3, Praise holds an ARCT Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music and Bachelor of Music in Performance and Bachelor of Education degrees from the University of Toronto. She studied with renowned pedagogue David Zafer and also trained with Professor Lin Yao Ji at the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music. Praise gratefully acknowledges the mentorship of Alec Hou (violin), Carla Hartsfield (piano), and Larysa Kuzmenko (composition) during her formative years of musical training.
Praise enjoys sharing her love of music with individuals from all walks of life, and looks forward to performing at your event, collaborating on projects, and bringing out the musician in you or your child.
Photo by Tara McMullen