Rene Ertomaa

Rene Ertomaa (b. 1972) has studied classical composition and singing at London College of Music and Media as well the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius. He has studied earlier at Oulunkylä Pop/Jazz Conservatory in Helsinki, where his subjects were electric bass, ear training and theory of music; and at Käpylä Music Institute where, among theoretical subjects, he studied classical singing. Mr. Ertomaa has studied classical singing privately with Erkki Alste, Niilo Malmberg and Mika Nikander in Helsinki and with Eva Lydecken in Paris.

In 2005 and 2006, Mr. Ertomaa's works were acclaimed at international chamber music festivals in, for example, Italy and Lithuania. In the summer of 2006, he was invited to participate in the acclaimed composers' master class of Mario Garuti in Piannello, Italy.

Mr. Ertomaa has long worked as composer, singer and lyricist with his Maestria orchestra. The idea of Maestria is to create music freely crossing musical borders, with the line-up consisting of electric instruments as well as strings, female singers, wind instruments and harp.

Maestria has performed live in the main venues of Helsinki (Savoy Theatre, Tavastia Club) and as an invited guest in Paris at the Finnish Cultural Institute. Mr. Ertomaa with his group was the first Finnish artist taking part in  the Fête de la Musique festival in Paris. Mr. Ertomaa has played bass in several bands, including ethno-jazz group Piirpauke, ethnic-progressive band Tainatar, as well as electric music bands Variance and Infectio. He has also worked as a bass and music teacher as well as music lecturer.

Rene Ertomaa’s latest theatre composition is the music theatre piece Song From the Island of Beautiful Children (dir. Johanna Freundlich), which was premiered at the Theatre Academy, Helsinki, in May 2005. The work was nominated Critic’s Choice in the Nyt supplement of Helsingin Sanomat, Finland's leading daily newspaper. For the Theatre Academy, Mr. Ertomaa also composed the music theatre piece A Queen and an Executioner,  which was performed in Helsinki and the Tampere Theatre Festival in 2002.

Mr. Ertomaa has belonged to the student opera group Helsinki Opera Ensemble which performed opera in alternative locations. For example, the group performed Purcell’s baroque opera Dido and Aeneas at the Cellar Theatre in 2001. Mr. Ertomaa sung the role of the Sorcerer.

Rene Ertomaa has worked as a producer of several music events. A few of the latest include the Total Cross Over Club at Tavastia club in Helsinki, which included Maestria, Waltari and the classical male choir Cantores Minores Ensemble. In October 2003, Mr. Ertomaa produced a charity concert for Middle Eastern peace at the Savoy Theatre in Helsinki named Chance for Peace.  The well-known artists in the concert represented various musical styles from opera to fusion jazz and from African ethno to Finnish soul music.

Recordings

The Prelude EP 1998 (ZGR) Maestria EP 2002 (Maestriamusic)