Biography
Indonesian-born Australian percussionist
and composer Robert Oetomo (b. 1988)
is an active freelancer as a soloist, chamber musician, composer and
an educator. He has been invited as special guest artist to perform and present
masterclasses in numerous festivals and universities around the world including the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg in Germany, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia, the 1st Qingdao
International Percussion Festival 2014 in China and the 9th Tabasco International
Marimba Festival 2015 in Mexico.
Robert has accumulated numerous national
and international prizes and awards including 1st Prize in both the Open
Marimba and Open Vibraphone category of the 2010 Australian Percussion
Eisteddfod, 1st Prize in the Transcription for Marimba category and 2nd Prize
in the Open Marimba category of the 2009 Australian Percussion Eisteddfod, 2nd
Prize in the 2008 Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Snare Drum Award, 3rd Prize in
the Vibraphone category of the 2011 Percussive Arts Society Italy International
Percussion Competition, the ‘Just Percussion Marimba Prize for
Outstanding Performance’ at the Australian Percussion Gathering 2010, 2nd Prize
in the Piano and Instrumental category and 3rd Prize in the Open category of
the 2011 Australian Concerto and Vocal Competition. He was also the winner of
the 2010 Sydney Conservatorium of Music Concerto Competition, and was a finalist
in the 2012 Yamaha Music Foundation Europe Scholarship Competition and the 2012
2MBS-FM Young Performerʼs Award.
A versatile percussionist, Robert has
performed with different orchestras and ensembles including the Australian
Opera and Ballet Orchestra, theWürttembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, the
Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester Mannheim, the Heidelberger Kantatenorchester,
Synergy Percussion, Askill Percussion Duo and Mannheimer Schlagwerk. He made
his debut as soloist in 2010 with the Beecroft Symphony Orchestra, and since
then has performed as soloist with the Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra
and Ensemble Impronta. He is co-Artistic Director of Askill Percussion Duo and
the Sydney Marimba Weekend along with his duo partner, Anna Zeltzer.
Robert has toured extensively and
performed in Europe, America, Asia and Australia with different orchestras and
ensembles including the Sydney Conservatorium Chamber Orchestra, the SBS Youth
Orchestra, the Australian Youth Orchestra, the Sydney Conservatorium Percussion
Quartet and Mannheimer Schlagwerk. He was invited to perform his award-winning
work, The Legend of the Golden Snail, at the Gala Concert of Australian
Percussion Gathering 2010, performing alongside highly acclaimed percussionists
including Steve Schick, Sylvio Gualda and Kuniko Kato. There, he also presented
his own research paper on the Transcription of J. S. Bachʼs Unaccompanied ʻCello Suites for the Modern Marimba. Robert released his debut CD (Evergreen
EP) in 2012 and is currently recording the complete J. S. Bach's
Unaccompanied ʻCello Suites transcribed for the modern marimba.
As a composer, Robert passionately
advocates the development of percussion music. He has composed numerous works
for percussion which have been performed all over the world. In 2015, he was
commissioned by the Australian Marimba Competition 2015 to write a compulsory
Australian piece (Étude de Paganini),
for which he was also a jury member of the competition panel. His first
symphonic work, Spirit of The Dreaming with solo didgeridoo, was
premiered at the 2008 Aurora Music Festival in Sydney, Australia. Later that
year, it was performed again with renowned didgeridoo soloist, William Barton.
Robert was selected for the 2010 Ku-Ring-Gai Philharmonic Orchestra Composers’
Workshop program during which he composed his orchestral work, Reflections
on an Islandʼs Landscape, under the mentorship of composer Nigel
Butterley and John Peterson. His works are published by Edition Svitzer
(Denmark) and Tapspace Publications (USA). Robert is an Encore Mallets, Inc.
endorser and is a Marimba One Discovery Artist. He currently plays on a 5 1/2 octave Marimba One 3000 marimba with Premium keyboard voicing and Classic resonators.
Robert began his percussion studies at the
age of 18 while commencing his Bachelor of Music (Composition) degree at the
Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music in 2006. The following year, he was admitted
to Australiaʼs most prestigious music university, the
Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he graduated with Bachelor of Music
(Performance) Honours Class I in 2010. He then went abroad to Germany where he
studied his Master of Music in Performance (Künstlerische Ausbildung) at the
Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim, receiving the
highest distinction for his graduation recital in 2014. His past teachers
include Professor Dennis Kuhn, Jasmin Kolberg, Claire Edwardes, Daryl Pratt,
Richard Miller and Gary Wain.
Biography
current to January, 2016.
"... amazingly expressive playing, great rhythmic precision, and impressive rhythmic vitality and subtle nuances. A very fine performance."
- Professor John Hopkins OBE
