Thollem McDonas

Thollem McDonas is an American pianist, improviser, composer, singer-songwriter, touring performer, musical educator, and social critic.

His musical compositions and performances have ranged from classical, and free jazz, to experimental and punk rock.

He has toured North America and Europe since 2006, performing solo works and collaborating with an array of musicians, dancers, dance companies and filmmakers.

McDonas began studying piano at the age of 5.

His mother was a piano teacher and this led him to study the instrument.

At the age of 14, he began teaching and authoring his own compositions.

Shortly after McDonas graduated with degrees in piano performance and composition from San Jose State University, the Gulf War began.

He abandoned the academy in his 20s to pursue direct political action.

Eventually he merged these concerns, using music and performance at protests to draw attention to pertinent issues.

Eventually he resumed his professional music career on [his] own terms, integrating his ... political ideologies into his compositions and performances.

He is constantly in motion, playing solo concerts, concerts with various groups—both established and ad hoc—and leading workshops and clinics.

McDonas is the founding director of Estamos Ensemble, an international musical group whose purpose is to promote more dialogue and collaboration across the U.S. – Mexican border.

In 2008, McDonas was invited by Musee Labenche to perform works by Claude Debussy on the last piano Debussy owned.

He was accompanied by world-renowned contrabassist Stefano Scodanibbio.

The resulting album, OnDebussy'sPianoAnd..., was released in 2010.

As a composer, Thollem has received Meet the Composer: Creative Connections, 2007 and American Music Center: CAP (2010) 'Stirring Awake' debuted at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (August 19, 2010) He was awarded the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation: USArtists (2010) as director of Estamos Ensemble He is the composer for "Triumph of the Wild" (2011), a documentary short by film maker Martha Colburn.

As a teacher, Thollem tours with his project The Everywhere Quintet.

The musicians involved are entirely different at each performance, and they represent countless genres or styles of playing.

In 2011, Edgetone Records released a double disc album by Estamos Ensemble premiering original works by William Parker, Nels Cline, Pauline Oliveros, Joan Jeanrenaud, Vinny Golia, Ana Lara, Juan Felipe Waller and Jorge Torres Sáenz.

Tsigoti is Thollem McDonas’ most overtly political project.

A freewheeling anarcho-punk group, Tsigoti serves as a literal mouthpiece for his activism.

Thollem sings politically charged lyrics alongside his off-kilter piano playing.

The group is rounded out by Italian musicians Andrea Caprara (drums), Matteo Bennici/Piero Spitilli (bass), and Jacopo Andreini (guitar).

As a writer, Thollem's essay "The Peripatetic Life of an Improvising Musician" was published in the Anthology of Essays on Deep Listening (Deep Listening Institute, 2012).

In 2013, he was a contributor to Full Moon, a Czech music magazine, based in Prague, covering mostly – not only – independent music scene and artists pushing the boundaries of music, one way or another.

He reviews music and art exhibits for First American Art Magazine, including the art show, "We Honor: The Art of Activism".

As an actor, Thollem is known for "River of Fundament" (2014), a film by Matthew Barney.