The music of Ecuadorean composer Tomás García (b. 1996) seeks to blend colorful melodies with the lively rhythms and excitement of popular music. He is currently completing his MM in Composition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he studies with Carlos Carrillo and Stephen Andrew Taylor, and he received his BM from the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, where he studied composition with Rob Smith and David Ashley White, and jazz guitar with Mike Wheeler. Additionally, Tomás has participated in masterclasses with composers Christopher Theofanidis, Stacy Garrop, Chris Arrell, and Stephen Montague, among others. As an educator, Tomás currently serves as teaching assistant for freshman level theory and musicianship courses at UIUC, and was private guitar instructor for two years in the Houston area. He is also an avid conductor.

Tomás has received commissions from the MSM Jazz Orchestra and the Kingwood Park High School Chamber Orchestra, and has collaborated with filmmaker Martin Galarza in his short films. He recently worked with saxophonist Matthew Oakes on a solo alto saxophone commission where he challenges the performer to explore different techniques in a groovy environment. His works Rhapsody for alto saxophone and piano and String Quartet No. 1 have been featured in departmental composition honors recitals.

Born in Brussels, Belgium, Tomás has been constantly moving around the globe. He started taking guitar lessons when he was ten, and since then has been exposed to many different genres from blues to postminimalism, styles which continue to influence his writing. During his undergraduate degree he performed regularly with the MSM Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Noe Marmolejo.

In his free time, Tomás enjoys watching and playing soccer, as well as practicing photography. He is a member of ASCAP.