Omar Bandinu
VOICE
Omar Bandinu
Italy
Omar Bandinu is one of the only Sardinian bassu singers in the world.
The Tenores singing is one of the more ancient ways of singing in the Mediterranean area. Nothing about its origins is sure, but the historians maintain that this traditional polyphony goes back to 3000 years ago.
Since he was a child Omar Bandinu studied piano and he later got a degree in Electronic Music, the SSIS license for teaching music and he graduated in Ethnomusicology. He also studied piano jazz in Nuoro Jazz seminars with Dado Moroni, Roberto Cipelli and Salvatore Spano.
Bandinu is one of the founders of the famous Tenores di Bitti “Mialinu Pira”: an ensemble of exemplary researchers in their heritage, executors with exceptional vocal quality who have reached a level of excellence and of admiration which is without equal in Sardinia and in the whole world. For more than 20 years they’ve been touring in Europe, Brazil, Emirates, Japan, Chile and Israel.
They frequently perform on national and international TV and radio programs. It is also remarkable their participation in 2001to the Christmas Concert in the Vatican for the Pope Giovanni Paolo II, the concert on May 2009 in the Concertgebouw Theatre in Amsterdam and in December in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem 2013.
Omar Bandinu is also interested in the use of guttural vocalism in others artistic domains, working with composers and musicians from different musical backgrounds.
In the “popular music” field he is the keyboardist of the group “I Nottambuli” with whom he recorded at the AbbeyRoad Studios EMI in London. He’s also the pianist of the quartet “Ethnico Project” by Mauro Usai, a formation of research and convergence of music of different cultures.
As ethnomusicologist he worked at the writing of several entries of the Sardinian Music Encyclopedia and he participates in seminars and workshops on oral traditional music.
He is actually teaching at the musical High School “Sebastiano Satta” in Nuoro.
