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In today's competitive music industry and a city heralded as the "Live Music Capital of the World", how many young artists have been recognized as one of the leading string musicians alongside seasoned veterans like Will Taylor (Strings Attached) and the Tosca String Quartet for four consecutive years in a row? The odds are against many of them. Yet, during his first year as a newly-emerged solo artist, Omar Lopez achieved this, once again being voted one of the Top String Musicians in the Austin Chronicle Music Poll (2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006) and having his recently-formed electro-acoustic live ensemble voted as one of the Top Ten groups in both the Jazz and Instrumental categories (2006) alongside mainstays such as guitar legend Eric Johnson. A classically-trained student of the Suzuki Method on the violin and viola for almost two decades, a graduate of the McCallum Fine Arts Academy in Austin, and a former music performance major at Texas State University, Omar was influenced by jazz, rock, pop, new age, and even Latin and Middle Eastern music since he was a child. He soon became recognized for an improvizational pizazz and an explosive stage presence which took his audiences' energy through the roof and kept veteran musicians on their toes. A native of a state where his instrument is more commonly referred to as a "fiddle", the violinist, vocalist, and composer was the featured soloist with symphonic-rock phenomenon, the Dreamsound Orchestra, on a three-year world tour. Following the events of 9/11, he returned to his hometown in late 2001, going on to share the stage and the recording studio with Latin-jazz sensation The Brew (fronted by flamenco guitar virtuoso Michael Rodriguez) and award-winning groups Matson Belle and Pieces of East. Omar took a brief sabbatical from the performance circuit in 2004 to produce and record his first solo album, "Forever Red". This product was the culmination of four years of creation and composition and a project which crossed the well-defined borders between contemporary classical, rock, world, and electronic music. The album was co-produced by renowned sound engineer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Adam Whaley at the The Means of Production Studio, and is a compilation of songs chronicling love found and lost while featuring emotionally-driven themes no less weighty and spiritual than birth, death and resurrection. His efforts were quickly noticed by notable music critic David Lynch of the Austin Chronicle, who wrote: "The classical training of Austin's worldly violinist Omar Lopez shows in his fiery technique, sweet tone, and this debut set list." A warm and driven personality, his culture-crossing appreciation for music, and his flamboyant showmanship on the violin have developed Omar into an eclectic entertainer who continues to love his audiences just as much as his artistry, and according to Lynch, "'Forever Red' demonstrates a manifest talent taking hold." Check out the artist's website: http://www.omarlopez.com Track List: 1. Dawn 2. Love Someone 3. Exodus 4. Testimonial Ocean (Part I) 5. Testimonial Ocean (Part II) 6. Forever Red 7. Reasons for Living 8. Fallen 9. Resurrection 10. Neverending Story Other Genres:
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