Photo by Elisha Even-Tov, 2010 PMP Residency in Jerusalem
Roger Tapping
1960-2022 | In Memoriam
Our PMP family mourns the loss of our beloved friend, mentor and faculty member. A kind, sensitive and inspired performer and teacher, he touched us; he changed lives; he was wonderful and we will miss him deeply.
Our thoughts are with Roger's wife Natasha and their children Cordelia and Eleanor, as well as his students, friends and colleagues.
“How someone can so gently exude such an enormous love of music and share this love and his artistry so generously, is beyond describing. Roger made us all better as artists and people — to think of Roger is to feel excited about playing music. Thank you, Roger.”
A world-renowned violist, Roger Tapping joined the faculty of The Perlman Music Program’s Chamber Music Workshop in 2007. He took part in a variety of PMP residencies, programs and events. He was adored by students, colleagues and audiences alike, and known for his unmatched artistry, kindness and passion for reading chamber music at every opportunity.
Born in England in 1960, Mr. Tapping played in a number of London’s leading chamber ensembles, making several highly-acclaimed CDs, before joining Britain’s longest established quartet, the Allegri Quartet. He taught at London’s Royal Academy of Music, was principal viola of the London Mozart Players, a member of the English Chamber Orchestra and a founding member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Mr. Tapping relocated from London to the USA in 1995 to join the Takács Quartet. During his decade with them, their career included many Beethoven and Bartok cycles in major cities all over the world. Their Decca/London recordings, including the complete quartets of Bartók and Beethoven, placed them in Gramophone Magazine’s Hall of Fame and won three Gramophone Awards, a Grammy and three more Grammy nominations, among many other awards.
More recently, he served on the faculty of the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he also directed the Chamber Music program, and previously taught at the Boston Conservatory and Longy.
Mr. Tapping joined The Juilliard School faculty and the Juilliard Quartet in 2013. In addition to The Perlman Music Program’s Chamber Music Workshop, Mr. Tapping divided his summers between the Tanglewood String Quartet Seminar, Yellow Barn, and Kneisel Hall.
Mr. Tapping was a member of the Order of the Knight Cross of the Hungarian Republic, held an honorary doctorate from the University of Nottingham, and was a fellow of the Guildhall School of Music in London.