Born to a family of four generations of musicians, Tamara represents the finest traditions of the Russian Piano School. She is a graduate of Kiev State Conservatorium of Music (Ukraine), University of Melbourne (Master Degree) and PhD (Monash University, Australia). She was the winner of the National Chamber Music Competition (Ukraine) and awarded the Prizes of Best Accompanist and Chamber Musician of Ukraine and USSR.
She has made numerous radio and TV recordings for national and international broadcasters, commercial recordings on labels which include Cantor Productions, Move, Schimmel International Artists Collection and Vox Australis. Her solo recitals, concerto and chamber-music performances as well as her activities in master-classes and on competition juries have taken her to many prominent venues across three continents.
From 1994-2018, Tamara Smolyar was a Senior Lecturer,Coordinator of Piano at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University.Currently,Tamara is a Piano staff member at Mentone Girls Grammar School, Australian Guild of Music and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music,University of Melbourne.
As a highly thought after pedagogue, Tamara has been fostering and developing the talents of the musicians under her tutelage to a high level of music performance. She instils in her students a solid technique and opens their ears to the vast scope of the piano literature.Tamara raised a number of piano students who become winners of national and international competitions.