Tomás Jesús Ocaña-González

The composer and clarinettist Tomás Jesús Ocaña-González was born in Málaga, Spain, in 1999. He studied both Bachelors in his hometown before moving to Frankfurt to study a Master’s degree in Composition at the HfMDK with Prof. Orm Finnendahl, supported by scholarships from Fundación Málaga and Deutschlandstipendium. During the 2024/25 season, he completed his studies at the International Ensemble Modern Academy as a clarinettist, with scholarships funded by the GVL and the Crespo Foundation, and tutored by Prof. Jaan Bossier.

Although his artistic profile focuses primarily on composition, his musical practice cannot be understood without the presence of the clarinet. His instrumental practice allows him to experience pieces in their fullest, live within them, and understand them deeply. In this way, both specialties feed off each other and create a more complete identity: a well-thought-out and meditated performance with a more developed analytical eye, and a down-to-earth compositional skill and in-depth knowledge of instrumental techniques, in order to understand their mixtures in chamber ensembles. All this, combined with his youth and his already extensive experience in the world of contemporary music, makes him an artist with a level of commitment and excellence of the highest value.

Among his awards, the most important ones are the first prize ›Xavier Montsalvatge‹ at the XXXII SGAE-CNDM Young Composers Award (2021), the selection as resident composer of JM Spain during the 2022/23 season, the 2023 excellence award in the Superior Artistic Education in Music granted by the Autonomous Government of Andalucía, for which he was nominated by the Superior Conservatory of Music from Málaga, and the first prizes at the III and IV “José Andreu Navarro” Composition Competition for Chamber Orchestra organized by the C.S.M. of Málaga (2021 and 2025).

Tomás has played as a soloist and his pieces have been premiered in places such as New York, Washington DC, Berlin, Graz, Lucerne and Madrid.