About Pamela
Pamela Tan-Nicholson is a British creative entrepreneur of Chinese origin, and Singaporean by birth, with interests in the leisure, entertainment and hospitality industry.
Born Pamela Tan Soei Luang, she started early in broadcasting. As a child she appeared regularly on a Chinese language children’s weekly radio playhouse (儿童剧社). In her teens, she became the first ever bi-lingual TV personality, actress and musician for Singapore’s national broadcasting body – at the time known as RTS (Radio Television Singapore; subsequently renamed SBC and now Mediacorp).
A prodigious pianist who gave her first public performance at 8, Tan-Nicholson was awarded her LRSM (Performer’s) Diploma aged 15. She made her debut full-length solo recital, under the joint patronage of then Minister of Culture Jek Yuen Thong and his wife.
Tan-Nicholson became a lawyer first in Singapore and then moved in 1983 to practise in London with Baker McKenzie. She left the law in the early 1990s to pursue an international artistic career that now spans almost four decades.
Described by a London critic as ‘the one-woman polymath’, Pamela Tan-Nicholson is both a traditional classicist and an innovative modernist. She is recognised for her success at combining varied genres, different disciplines and multi-cultural influences. Her unique ability to transcend music genres has made traditional and classical music accessible to millions. At last count, Tan-Nicholson has toured to over 40 countries and notable venues encompassing concert halls, stadiums, historic arenas and royal palaces. As a writer, director and producer, she also conceptualised and powered her daughter, Vanessa-Mae, to international stardom. Vasko Vassilev, Joaquin Cortez, Zucchero, Madonna, Sting, Simon Callow, Andy Serkis, Ian McKellen, Steven McRae, José Carreras, Paco Pena are some other known artists with whom Pamela Tan-Nicholson has collaborated, through writing, staging or performing successful original shows and recordings.
Aside from works of commercial significance, Tan-Nicholson and her music have also proven popular in sporting events and political arenas. As part of the 2008 Olympics, Pamela became the first foreign artist to perform her original music on China’s CCTV National News Channels in appearances at the People’s Congress Hall in Beijing, and at Westminster Hall in London.
In 2018, Tan-Nicholson launched Trioperas, an ambitious project which re-imagined opera for a 21st century audience, leading reviewers to praise not only her musical vision but its importance in the context of a global society. The show ran for 8 weeks in the West End of London with her in the dual role of pianist and conductor. She is currently in discussions to re-stage the show in Madrid.
In 2021, she headed a European tour for Wom@rts, an EU initiative promoting women in culture. Tan-Nicholson was an unsurprising choice to headline the climax of this project, not just in recognition of her own achievements as a woman but as well for her respected role championing women in orchestras. Tan-Nicholson has a history of engaging successfully with all-women orchestras with whom she has performed in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and in the UK .The final performance (in Spain), El Comercio proclaimed, was ‘the culmination of the European Project Wom@rts, a multinational collaborative focused on raising the profile of creative talents and promoting equal opportunities in the arts – both objectives clearly attained last night. Pamela Tan-Nicholson made the audience of Palacio Valdes Theatre tremble… For a few hours, Aviles’ theatre par excellence was able to enjoy the stellar baton of the pianist and director Londoner Pamela Tan-Nicholson’.
After settling in London, Tan-Nicholson returned periodically to her roots in Singapore for special projects. In the 80s, she collaborated with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra to host the Bang & Olufsen Music Festival of which she was Artistic Director. In 1991, she toured Asia with the Mozart Players in Mozart’s Bicentennial Year and presented her daughter’s debut in Singapore. Tan-Nicholson was hugely honored to receive personal congratulations from the late national leaders, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Keng Swee who both graciously attended the event. Tan-Nicholson took great pride to present the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s debut tour to the UK where they performed in Manchester and London.
To date, still the only ‘living’ composer ever to feature in the long-established Toyota Classics series, Tan-Nicholson was thrilled to include Singapore in two of her three Asian tours for the series. In 2016, she returned with the Baltic Neopolis Orchestra to celebrate the 10th anniversary of ASEAN with the commission of a commemorative anthem, ‘ASEAN Harmony’, which was performed by children in each ASEAN country singing in various national languages of the territory.
Through her UK company, Trittico Limited, founded in 1991, Pamela and her creative team produce recordings, conceptualise shows and promote concerts, events and tours. Trittico is a government approved supplier to many European regional government bodies for production and execution of artistic and creative activities. Trittico also enjoys a long history of servicing established ‘institutions’ such as the Royal Opera House, the Covent Garden Soloists Orchestra, the Philharmonia, the London Chamber Orchestra, Jose Carreras etc.
In 2022, Pamela Tan-Nicholson stepped down from Trittico Limited to focus on developing her Singapore company World Star Power Limited. This company was set up originally to focus on tours and creative projects in Asia spinning off her Beijing Olympics achievements. As a resident in Singapore, she is now intent on cultivating World Star Power to be her centre of operations worldwide, not only for her entertainment projects but also her other business interests.
Building on strong historic family ties to the food and beverage business, Pamela-Tan Nicholson has been active in the wider hospitality industry for some years already. Significantly, she is co-developing a new project in France. The development is a flagship project in Val-d’Isère for which her 17th century monastery (which her team has operated as a high-end luxury chalet for 15 years), will now make way. The new project covers over 20,000m2 and combines branded residences with a 5-star palace hotel, both to be operated by an international luxury brand. The project is supported by a Spanish publicly listed company focused on luxury hospitality assets. The new resort is scheduled to open in time to host the 2030 Winter Olympics in Val-d’Isère.
