Can you introduce yourself and share how you got into music?
We are Omar and Ivanna Gutierrez, siblings concert pianists from Baja California, Mexico, we are the piano duo ''Omar & Ivanna'', currently recognized in our country for being the first and unique classical pianists in Mexico for having an audience beyond the concert halls on our Youtube channel (@omareivanna) with more than 100k Youtube subscribers, obtaining the YouTube creators award ''Silver Button Award'' with only live concerts videos of our tours.
Since we were very young, when we heard the piano for the first time we liked it so much the sound and we wanted to learn to play it, so both began taking lessons with Russian piano teachers. Over time music became our passion and we dedicated ourselves 100% to it, later, playing the piano became our professional career, offering international concert tours, winning music competitions and recording CDs in Europe, Asia and America.
What do you believe defines a great composer, and how do you incorporate your unique style into your music?
A great pianist is the symbol of the work and discipline that he has developed through the years of his study and practice, but beyond the technical level, we believe a great pianist is one who manages to interpret and take advantage of all the resources that a piano can offer us.
We are defined by our style of concerts with our connection of being siblings, in each performance we try to be as one mind in the piano duets and duos. We also define ourselves by searching all the possibilities of the piano sounds can give us, always we try to understand the composer's feelings in the best way possible and showing our love and passion for the music, sometimes we imagine ourselves as we were an orchestra in a solo piano (duet) or as a duo for two pianos. We believe that our unique style is also about to include original compositions and arrangements of duet works to our audiences.
Can you recall a memorable moment from your pianist career that had a significant impact on you?
For us, every step in music, every concert becomes a unique moment. But we keep a special day in our memories refers to a concert of two pianos in Shanghai, China in October 2019, we were in a country when no one speak our language or English even though the audience was so excited to approach to us, for congrats and telling us "xie xie" (that it means thank you), showing us the joy and happiness through a single word for the concert and visit to their country. We think it is very gratifying to see that music is a universal language and that no matter what country we are in, music always unites us.
Would you like to share your experience participating in our competition and anyone you'd like to thank (such as mentors or other team members)?
For us, the Best Classical Musicians Awards is an opportunity that opens the doors for all musicians in the world. It has an exceptional organization as well that allows high-level musicians to present their work with confidence and security that they will be evaluated and recognized by a prestigious international jury, we would like to thank WOMCO for this opportunity and invite other musicians to participate and live this great experience. We would also like to thank all the people and teachers who have supported us throughout our artistic career to achieve these goals.
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