Ignacio García de Olalla started his studies in music at Valley City State University, taking courses in music theory, composition and orchestration. In 2013, he won the Classical Category of the university’s Collegiate Composers’ Competition with his lied for Baritone and Piano, Coplas por la muerte de su padre, to words by Jorge Manrique. He has later pursued a dual-major online bachelor’s degree in guitar and composition at Berklee College of Music. Besides coursework covering arranging, orchestration, music theory, music technology and performing, he is indebted to his composition teacher Leon Willett, to whom he owes having structured earlier learnings with a novel compositional method.
Ignacio’s orchestral works may be categorised as symphonic poems. The spark of inspiration might come from a walk in a village, a forest or a mountain, which he endeavours to describe in music. Being a passionate opera enthusiast, his music is clearly influenced by the operatic world, and film music.
