Lam holds degrees from Yale University, the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, and Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She first received a commission from Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute in 2006. The resulting piece she composed, "Empty Mountain, Spirit Rain" caught the attention of Yo-Yo Ma, who is the artistic director of The Silk Road Ensemble. They took the piece on worldwide concert tours throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan, South East Asia, and China, and recorded her piece on two CDs "New Impossibilities" and "Off the Map". The latter album, where Lam was one of four featured composers, was nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Classical Crossover category. For her second commission from Carnegie Hall, she created the song cycle "Sun, Moon, and Star" with mentorship from Osvaldo Golijov and Dawn Upshaw. In the same year, she was mentored by theater artist Martha Clarke to create her theater work "Midnight Run" for music, dance and visual projections in collaboration with the historic Peabody Dance in Baltimore. Other notable premieres of her works include Colorado Symphony Orchestra, New York's Greenwich Village Orchestra, New York University Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Chicago's Northwest Symphony and Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest, University of California Irvine Symphony Orchestra, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Yale Philharmonia, Interlochen Arts Academy, Los Angeles Loyola Choir Men's Chorus and Orchestra, and Orange County Women's Chorus. In 2009, she was voted by the magazine Musical America as "Artist of the Month" and by Yale Alumni Magazine of Yale University as "Yalie of the Week". In the same year, she received a commission to compose "Awakening from a Disappearing Garden", a cello and orchestra work for Yo-Yo Ma and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, with the New York premiere at Carnegie Hall's China Festival "Ancient Paths, Modern Voices". She was a featured New Stage Theater composer in the 40th Hong Kong Arts Festival. As composer, librettist and story writer, she premiered her musical "June Lovers", featuring Atlanta Symphony Orchestra violinist and concertmaster David Coucheron and conductor Perry So, along with six singers and actors with an ensemble of eight musicians. She currently resides in New York City and also writes critical reviews for the Broadway, Off-Broadway and indie shows review website Theasy.com. She is a member of the Distinguished Artist Council of the Johns Hopkins University and Hong Kong Jockey ClubMusic and Dance Fund Awardees Association.
