Saskia Tomkins

Saskia Tomkins is a British-born Canadian musician whose musical life defies easy category. A master of violin, viola, cello, and nyckelharpa, she moves with equal fluency across classical, folk, jazz, and traditional music, bringing technical depth and fearless range to everything she plays.

Tomkins grew up in Kent, England, and began studying violin at age seven. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Music from Middlesex University in London, where she studied jazz and popular music, and went on to win the All Britain Fiddle Championship in the category of Irish slow airs. Her performing career has taken her across Europe and North America, including a tour of Germany, festival appearances across the UK, and a celebrated performance with The Chieftains at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto. She is also credited with developing the Celtic musical elements of Come From Away, the internationally acclaimed Canadian musical.

Her theatre work is equally substantial. She has composed and performed original scores for productions at the Capital Theatre in Cobourg and the 4th Line Theatre, where she has appeared in multiple productions over the years. For several years she served as principal violist of the Northumberland Orchestra, and she has performed and recorded with a wide range of ensembles and artists throughout her career, with a discography spanning more than fifteen albums.

Since settling in Ontario in 2007, Tomkins has become a beloved fixture of the Peterborough and Northumberland music scene. She is a longtime presence at local sessions, concerts, and community musical life, and brings that same spirit of generous, fearless musicianship to her work with the Kawartha Chamber Music Collective.