TOMAS OLANO: Carl Orff Competition 2020 Escravos de Jó

TOMAS OLANO Tomás Olano is a pianist, composer and teacher born May 12th 1983, in Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Started studying piano at age 9 with prof. Susana Tolosa at Isaias Orbe conservatory in his hometown. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in composition, obtained in the Arts Faculty of Universidad Nacional de La Plata. His tutors in composition were Mariano Etkin, Cecilia Villanueva and Carlos Mastropietro.

In his music, elements akin to the Latin American folkloric musical language are introduced, while maintaining a complex aesthetics as regards their relationship with contemporary academic music. It is an “undefined” type of music, yet strongly rooted with the identity and history of its people. In Olano’s words, “There is no art that isn’t political or is without an ideology; my music plows through those waters… If there is nothing to say as political subjects, who are affected by the development of history, it’s better to say nothing, then.”

He has received several prized an accolades for his work in musical composition, among which are the selection made by Greg Patillo (Project Trio), the piece “Vermouth with fries” (flute, cello and double bass) and the Diabelli International Composer Contest, reaching the final stage among 125 composers of different countries with his piece “Elisión”, premiered in April 2015 in Munich (Germany) at the Münchner Künstlerhaus.

During 2015 and 2016, his pieces were premiered in Argentina, South Africa, Germany, France, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and the United States.

Three of his pieces have been shown in Művelődési Szint (Müszi), Budapest, Hungary, in the Music after the end of music cycle, organized by Conceptual Soundproductions Budapest: “The nobodies” for 4 to 16 singers/performers, "Waiting Room" for a saxophone duo, and "Keep the change" for flute, bass trombone and percussion.

His latest premieres were at the University Of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tennessee) with his piece “Milongazo”, for tuba and violin, interpreted by Kenyon Wilson and Marcy J. Wilson at the International Tuba & Euphonium Association Conference at the University of Tennessee and in Bourdeaux (France) of "तुलसी" for flute, bansuri and mandolin, interpreted by Etienne Rolin and Vincent Beer-Demander.

He has composed pieces for soloists, choirs, ensembles and symphony orchestra. Among them, “Chakra”, was premiered at Teatro Argentino in La Plata, together with composers from Brazil, Spain, Mexico and Portugal, in the context of “III Encuentro Internacional de Producción Artística en Formato Digital”. Olano’s pieces have been interpreted by different ensembles and soloists throughout the world; he has received numerous requests to premiere and distribute his music as well.