Tim graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2000, where he was a major prize winner. He also studied at Cambridge University and at the Tanglewood Music Centre.

A strong interest in contemporary music led to the foundation of the highly-praised Clarion Ensemble. He has assisted Oliver Knussen (Britten-Pears Orchestra), and Thomas Adès (Birmingham Contemporary Music Group) making his BBC Proms debut aged 21 in the European premiere of Nancarrow's Study for Orchestra. In 2000 he conducted part of Le Marteau sans Maître for Boulez during his 75th birthday visit to the RCM. He returned to the Proms in 2002 for the Julian Anderson Composer Portrait Concert.

As music director of Tête à Tête he has recently given the premieres of two new British operas, Push! by David Bruce, and Odysseus Unwound by Julian Grant. Tim has also conducted The Gentle Giant for Royal Opera House, The (Little) Magic Flute for ETO, Tobias and the Angel for ETO/Young Vic, The Turn of the Screw for Pigott's Music Camp and Down by the Greenwood Side for Clarion Music Theatre. He has been assistant conductor for Broomhill Opera, Spier Festival (Cape Town), Opera Holland Park and UCL Opera. Since 2002 he has been principal conductor of the Salisbury Sinfonia. He has also performed with BBC Singers, Psappha, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Pigott's Music Camp, RCM New Perspectives Ensemble, and Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as at the Aldeburgh Festival and the RCM Tippett Festival. He has recently made his South Bank Centre debut with the New Professionals, and his ballet debut with The Wind in the Willows at the Royal Opera House and on tour.