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Metod Tomac – ROG“We are not interested in notes, we are interested in music.” (Bor Turel) “In my thinking about music, the horn – the instrument – has never particularly interested me. Questions about the meaning of art, music, composition and contemporary music are the things that attract me… In terms of musicians, I am attracted by imagination and refinement of musical thought, conception and presentation, and in recent times especially common human qualities, such as morality, ethics, outlook, intelligence… In spite of that, as a musician and teacher at the Ljubljana Music and Ballet High School, where on a daily basis I meet with the inevitably motivating ups and downs, I would like to get to the bottom of the horn – the instrument.” Metod first encountered the horn as an 11-year-old boy at the Piran Music School, and overcame the first obstacles with his teacher Umberto Radojković, who according to Metod was “a model of diligence and healthy ambition.” Successful appearances at two competitions in the former Yugoslavia (1980, 1982) further encouraged him to take up music as a profession. After successfully passing the entrance exam he enrolled in the class of Jože Falout at the Ljubljana Academy of Music, while at the same time, in 1989, he entered employment with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, for whom he served as solo horn player from 1995 to 2000. His student years were rounded off with a second prize in the Musicians Competition in Zagreb in 1992, and first prize in the artistic category of the Slovene Young Musicians Competition – TEMSIG – the following year. A turning point in his musical development was the period of getting to know Vinko Globokar at the Fiesole in Florence. The perfection of brass technique, which was the topic of study, was accompanied by hours and hours chatting with the master about his own compositions, about music and art, as well as about the instrument and performance. The friendship that developed has been maintained right up to the present day, and it is also partly due to Vinko that Metod became closely connected to the other members of Slowind. More detailed research and study of the horn was aided by participating in the masterclasses of Erich Penzel and especially Markus Bruggaier, who decisively influenced Metod’s development both as a horn player and even more as a pedagogue (at the time he had already taught at the Ljubljana Music and Ballet High School for several years). “Unfortunately I was already some 30 years old by that time!” notes Metod. Nonetheless, it is the quintet form that has marked his life throughout. He had already come across it in his family (he has three brothers and two sisters), in Piran Umberto led an excellent brass quintet that had won all of the accolades in the former Yugoslavia, and then Metod became a member of the quintet Slowind, with whom he has been making music now for 13 years. “The youngest member” they often joke. “Metod is so young that in America he is not allowed to drink beer”. ”Chamber playing is what lies most comfortably with me; I do not feel born for solo playing.” Metod sent the information about his musical career on a very special day. Therefore, I will finish with his own words: “That is all. Written on the day of my sister’s wedding: 31 May 2008, at 6.00 am.” |
