About this Program 

Hector Villa-Lobos (1887–1959)

Fantasia
I. Animé
II. Lento
III. Très animé

Hector Villa-Lobos was born in Rio de Janeiro during a time of social unrest. His early introduction to music was gained by sitting unobserved at the top of the stairs listening to the music that his father and friends played during musical evenings in the Villa-Lobos home. Despite being given very little formal training, he learned to play cello, clarinet and guitar as a child, and he played well enough that after his father’s death in 1899, he helped support his family by playing in street music bands and theatre orchestras.  In his late teens, he began to explore and absorb native Brazilian music, music that had its roots in Portuguese, African and Indigenous culture. In 1913, Villa-Lobos married the pianist, Lucilia Guimaraes. She taught him to play the piano and helped him with notation; his first pieces were published that year. From that point on, he devoted himself to being a serious musician. In 1917, he met the French composer Darius Milhaud who introduced him to current French music, notably Debussy, Ravel and Satie.  Thus contemporary Western Classical music was added to Brazilian Indigenous music and the street music of Rio de Janeiro as influences in his compositions.

Although seldom featured as a solo instrument, the saxophone figures prominently in Villa-Lobos musical output. He discovered the saxophone as a youth while playing with street orchestras called “choroes”.  Choroes music is characterized by its improvisational feel, its syncopation, and its virtuosity, characteristics that find their way into the three-movement concerto which he simply titled “Fantasia para saxophone”.

Cécile Chaminade (1857–1944)

Flute Concertino in D major, Op. 107

In 1913, Cecile Chaminade was the first female composer to be awarded the French Legion d’Honneur.  She was born in a village outside Paris into a musical family.  Her mother taught her piano   and, at age ten, a teacher from the Paris Conservatory recommended that she study music there, but her father forbade it; it was “improper for a girl of her class”.  However, he did allow her to study piano, violin and composition privately with members of the Conservatoire faculty. She began composing as a young child, making up pieces for her cats, dogs and dolls.  By the late 1870s, the audience for her music had expanded considerably; her works were programmed throughout France, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland.  In her twenties, she began touring, playing concerts of her own music.  In 1892, she performed in London to great acclaim. Queen Victoria loved her music and awarded her a Jubilee Medal in 1897; Chaminade’s “Prelude for Organ” was played at Victoria’s funeral. She also received honours from the Athens Conservatory and from Sultan Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire.  In 1908, she performed a twelve city concert tour of the United States, where her music was also tremendously popular.  In spite of this popularity during her lifetime, Chaminade fell into obscurity after her death and is only now being rediscovered.

The single movement “Flute Concertino,” composed in 1902, is probably Chaminade’s best known work. It was scored originally for solo flute and piano, and later  arranged for flute and orchestra. A brief opening from the piano introduces the piece, leading to a lyrical melody which is explored in a series of decorative passages, an animated central section and solo cadenzas appear before the opening lyrical strains return to close out the piece.  In describing her own style, Chaminade wrote, "I am essentially of the Romantic school, as all my work shows."

Erwin Schulhoff (1894–1942)

Saxophone Sonata (“Hot Sonata”)
III. Allegro moderato
IV. Allegro

Erwin Schulhoff was born in Prague to a middle class family of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.  He was a gifted child and Antonin Dvorak encouraged his musical studies, including having the ten year old enter the Prague Conservatory, where Dvorak taught.  Schulhoff did well at the Conservatory, winning the Mendelssohn Prize in 1913.  He served in the Austo-Hungarian army during the First World War and spent five years after the war in Germany where he engaged in radical politics and the avant-garde art scene while earning a living as a composer and performer. He returned to Prague in 1923. He was one of the first generation of European composers to find inspiration in the rhythms of jazz music.  His concert tours of Germany, France and England featured performances of his own works, contemporary classical pieces and jazz, and he was known to play American ragtime music in local bars after the concert was over.  Life became difficult for him after Hitler’s rise to power; in addition to being a Jew, Schulhoff was a communist sympathizer (In 1932, he composed an oratorio which set “The Communist Manifesto” to music).  Things grew increasingly difficult. He was blacklisted by the Nazi regime. He could no longer give recitals in Germany, nor could his works be performed publicly. He was arrested in 1941 and sent to a concentration camp where he died the following year.

By 1930, Schulhofff was recognized as a jazz expert, so a Berlin radio station commissioned him to write a jazz-inspired piece. He called the composition “Hot” Sonata because the English word “Hot” had become synonymous with jazz. The work was premiered in August of 1930 with American saxophonist Billy Barton as the soloist while Schulhoff played the piano accompaniment.  The bluesy third movement has an air of sadness as it opens but resolves into an urban nocturne with a bit of a knowing strut. The fourth movement begins with a sense of self-assertion before a slow section leads to a return of the melody from the opening movement and a sudden ending.

Fazil Say (b. 1970)

Suite for Saxophone and Piano, Op. 55     
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Presto

Fazil Say was born and grew up in Ankara, Turkey.  A child prodigy, he began piano lessons at age four and was admitted to the Ankara State Conservatory as a twelve-year-old.  At seventeen, he was accepted into the Robert-Schumann-Hochschule in Düsseldorf.  Upon graduation in 1999, Say relocated to Berlin. He came to international attention in 1995 when he won the "Young Concert Artists" competition in New York.  In addition to composing regularly, he established a career as a piano virtuoso, playing over a hundred engagements a year both as a classical pianist and with his jazz quintet.  During the past two decades, he has been Artist/Composer in Residence for over a dozen organizations across the globe, including Radio France, numerous German orchestras and the Sumida Triphony Hall in Tokyo.  His compositions are characterized by “a rhapsodic, fantasia-like basic structure; a variable rhythm, often dance-like, though formed through syncopation; a continuous, vital driving pulse; and a wealth of melodic ideas often based on themes from the folk music of Turkey”.

Fazil Say composed “The Suite for Saxophone and Piano,” a set of six short virtuoso pieces, for the internationally acclaimed Japanese saxophonist Nobuya Sugawa. He and Sugawa premiered the work at the Sumida Triphony Hall in 2014.  Say noted that “The pieces are very much inspired by Turkish music, rhythms, dances, folklore...” but they also spring from classical roots and jazz traditions.

Roberto Molinelli (b. 1963)

Four Pictures from New York
I. Dreamy Dawn
II. Tango Club

Roberto Molinelli was born in the Adriatic seaport city of Ancona in Italy.  He graduated from the Conservatorio Rossini di Pesaro with honours as a violist. In the forty years since then he has made a name for himself as a viola soloist, conductor, composer, arranger and music educator.  Molinelli has had orchestral compositions premiered in Europe, America and Russia. He has also done pop, jazz and opera arrangements, and his opera “Montessoriana,” written for the centennial of educator Maria Montessori in 2007, has been produced in Sweden, the United States, and Italy. In addition to orchestral works, he composed the music for a Barilla Pasta commercial, the longest running commercial on Italian television.

“Four Pictures from New York for Saxophone and Symphony Orchestra” was composed in 2001. In a program note accompanying the score, Molinelli wrote the following. The work depicts “four images of the most famous and most universal metropolis of the world.  I wrote this concerto for saxophone and orchestra inspired by the Big Apple as it seems to the eyes of a European in love with America and its music and culture. In ‘Dreamy Dawn’, I described the sunrise in a radiant dawn, limpid and serene but modern at the same time: the day breaks with a background of the skyscrapers of Manhattan in an enchanting spectacle. ‘Tango Club’ is a piece dedicated to the grand Master of Tango Astor Piazzolla, New Yorker by adoption, written in the style of Argentinian Tango, in which the rhythm is possibly more important and representative of the recent secular past, and imagined in one of the many metropolitan clubs where they play and dance to Latin-American Music.”

Takashi Yoshimatsu (b. 1953)

Fuzzy Bird Sonata
I. Run, Bird
II. Sing, Bird
III. Fly, Bird

Takashi Yoshimatsu was born in Tokyo. He grew up listening to American rock music but in his teens he became fascinated with the symphonies of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. He had no musical training as a youth and enrolled in the Faculty of Engineering at Keio University.  While there, he met the respected composer, Teizo Matsumura and began to study composition. He dropped out of the university in 1974, and played keyboard for Japanese progressive rock bands. Still, he remained committed to composing and after more than twenty unsuccessful attempts, he won a top national composition prize in 1980, and his career finally found its way. He has composed six symphonies, more than a dozen concertos (for instruments as diverse as bassoon, cello, guitar, saxophone, trombone, marimba and traditional Japanese instruments), and a significant amount of chamber music.

Music analyst Chiaki Hanafusa says, “Yoshimatsu approaches music for classical saxophone as a new genre. He seeks all possible sounds that the saxophone can create — beautiful tone to ‘noise like’ — in his compositions. The blending of other musical styles in one piece is one of Yoshimatsu’s compositional traits, which can be observed in ‘Fuzzy Bird Sonata’ (composed in 1991); however, he does not limit himself to a single style. This unique approach with some technical challenges attracts saxophonists and audiences alike.” ‘Fuzzy Bird’ is a mixture of oriental folk, jazz, and bird songs in three parts. Hanafusa describes the three parts this way: “Part One, “Run,” is composed of quick trills and a jazzy wailing baseline with bent notes and short pecking sections.  Part Two, “Sing,” is composed of high sweet notes of a singing bird, swelling and dipping gracefully. It is the one that riveted my attention: I’ve never heard a saxophone played like this. Part Three, “Fly,” is effortless and playful through the registers of the saxophone.

Pedro Iturralde (1929–2020)

Pequeña Czarda

Pedro Iturralde was born in Falces in northern Spain. He and his brother Javier began studying music with their father and by the age of ten Pedro was playing saxophone and clarinet in the Falces town band. After a brief tour as a saxophonist outside Spain, the eighteen-year-old Iturralde returned home to study saxophone, clarinet, piano, guitar and composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid. It was here that, as a twenty-year-old, he composed the Pequeña Czarda, one of his most popular pieces. As a performer, he and his quartet became a frequent attraction at the Whisky Jazz Club in Madrid.  In addition to his jazz gigs, Iturralde premiered several compositions with the Orquesta Nacional de España and other Spanish symphonies and toured extensively as a classical saxophonist.  As a composer he is probably best known for the integration of flamenco guitar into jazz/classical fusion. He returned to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid as a professor in 1978.

Iturralde composed “Pequena Czarda” (“Little Dance”) a virtuoso piece for saxophone and piano, in 1949. Like the Hungarian dance (czarda) whose form it takes, the piece begins slowly with a languorous sensuality, then moves to a more energetic high stepping tempo. After a brief piano interlude comes a virtuosic cadenza for the sax before the dance rushes to an energetic close.

Program notes by Larry Bent

About the Artists

Valentin Kovalev, saxophone

Valentin Kovalev is a passionate and dedicated classical saxophonist who seeks to elevate the voice of the saxophone within classical music.

Named the winner of the most prestigious international competition, Valentin is also the recipient of significant awards from foundations in France (Fondation pour la vocation), Russia (Rostropovich Foundation), and the U.S. (Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia). His international career spans performances as a soloist across the U.S., Russia, France, Andorra, and Asia. In 2021, he joined the roster of Astral Artists (Philadelphia) as a National Competition Winner.

Valentin was recently named a winner and received the Audience Award from the prestigious Concert Artists Guild, a distinguished classical music management organization based in New York City.

As the recent winner of the esteemed Naumburg Foundation 2022 Saxophone Competition, Valentin gave a sold-out debut recital at Carnegie Hall, premiering a newly commissioned piece by GRAMMY-winning composer Steven Mackey during the 2023-2024 season.

An active educator, Valentin enjoys teaching masterclasses across the U.S., Italy, Andorra, France, Spain, and Asia. Having served as a saxophone professor at Rowan University in New Jersey, he is excited to become a visiting professor at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Valentin has also recently recorded a masterclass and podcast for the online educational platform AdLibitum Class.

His musical journey—from Siberia to studying saxophone in Moscow, obtaining an undergraduate degree from the esteemed Paris Conservatory, and completing a Master's degree at the University of Michigan—exemplifies how determination and passion can surpass geographical limitations.

In August 2023, Valentin had the honor of joining acclaimed electronic dance music violinist Lindsey Stirling on stage in Portsmouth, VA, captivating an audience of 6,000 people.

One of Valentin’s most noteworthy accomplishments has been building an engaged community of music lovers across his social media platforms, collectively surpassing 100,000 followers on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. This robust online presence allows him to share his passion for the saxophone, inspire others, and foster a thriving global community of music enthusiasts.

Valentin is a Henri Selmer Paris artist and a Conn-Selmer artist (USA). He is represented by the Concert Artists Guild.

Ahmed Alom, piano

Ahmed Alom is a pianist, composer, and conductor whose artistry bridges classical and popular traditions, earning him recognition as “one of the most versatile artists in the Western Hemisphere” (Diario de Mallorca). His unique voice blends the rigor and structure of classical training with the rhythmic and harmonic richness of his Cuban heritage, forging connections between the past and the music of today.

Alom’s compositions have been performed by world-renowned musicians, including Yuja Wang, who premiered his Displaced Etude No. 1 at the New York Philharmonic. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, New World Symphony, Orquesta Filarmónica de México, and Britt Festival Orchestra. He is also the youngest Artistic Director of the Washington Square Music Festival, where he champions inclusive and innovative programming, premiering works by Julian de la Chica, Dante Cucurullo, Dick Hyman among others,

Deeply engaged in collaboration, Alom works across genres with leading artists such as Michael League, Antonio Sánchez, Teddy Abrams, Steve Hackman, Miguel Zenón, Mark Dover, Brandon Ridenour and Pedrito Martinez. His debut album, Exilio (2023), explored themes of displacement through the works of six Hispanic composers, including the first complete recording of Luis A. Calvo’s Four Intermezzos. His chamber trio, Triple Cortado—with Caleb Hudson and Achilles Liarmakopoulos—blends classical virtuosity with new contemporary works, while his duo CrossCurrents with Pedrito Martinez navigates the intersection of Afro-Cuban music and European classical traditions.

Beyond the stage, Alom is a sought-after educator, having given masterclasses and lectures at Berklee College of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory, Dartmouth College, Peabody Institute, and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. His passion for new music has led to collaborations with visionary composers and projects, including performances with Steve Hackman, the Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet, and Ballet Hispánico’s Doña Perón.

Born in Cuba, Alom trained in both piano and percussion before earning his Bachelor of Music from the Manhattan School of Music under Dr. Solomon Mikowsky. He continues his studies in conducting and composition with Dr. Ford Lallerstedt while actively expanding his artistic collaborations worldwide.

Saxophoniste Valentin Kovalev et pianiste Ahmed Alom

À propos de ce concert

ARTISTES : Valentin Kovalev, saxophone ; Ahmed Alom, piano

COMPOSITEURS : Chaminade, Iturralde, Molinelli, Say, Schulhoff, Villa-Lobos et Yoshimatsu

À propos du programme

Hector Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)

Fantasia
I. Animé
II. Lento
III. Très animé

Hector Villa-Lobos est né à Rio de Janeiro à une époque de troubles sociaux. Il s'initie très tôt à la musique en écoutant, assis en haut des escaliers, la musique jouée par son père et ses amis lors des soirées musicales organisées dans la maison des Villa-Lobos. Bien qu'il n'ait reçu qu'une formation très limitée, il apprend à jouer du violoncelle, de la clarinette et de la guitare pendant son enfance, et il joue suffisamment bien pour qu'après la mort de son père en 1899, il aide à subvenir aux besoins de sa famille en jouant dans des groupes de musique de rue et des orchestres de théâtre. À la fin de son adolescence, il commence à explorer et à s'imprégner de la musique brésilienne, qui trouve ses racines dans les cultures portugaise, africaine et indigène. En 1913, Villa-Lobos épouse la pianiste Lucilia Guimaraes. Elle lui apprend à jouer du piano et l'aide à se familiariser avec la notation ; ses premières pièces sont publiées cette année-là. À partir de ce moment, il se consacre à une carrière de musicien sérieux. En 1917, il rencontre le compositeur français Darius Milhaud qui lui fait découvrir la musique française actuelle, notamment Debussy, Ravel et Satie. C'est ainsi que la musique classique occidentale contemporaine est venue s'ajouter à la musique indigène brésilienne et à la musique de rue de Rio de Janeiro pour influencer ses compositions.

Bien que rarement utilisé comme instrument soliste, le saxophone occupe une place prépondérante dans la production musicale de Villa-Lobos. Il a découvert le saxophone dans sa jeunesse en jouant avec des orchestres de rue appelés « choroes ». La musique des choros se caractérise par son caractère improvisé, ses syncopes et sa virtuosité, caractéristiques que l'on retrouve dans le concerto en trois mouvements qu'il a simplement intitulé « Fantasia para saxophone ».

Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)

Concertino pour flûte en ré majeur, opus 107

En 1913, Cécile Chaminade a été la première femme compositeur à recevoir la Légion d'honneur française. Elle est née dans un village de la région parisienne au sein d'une famille de musiciens. Sa mère lui enseigne le piano et, à l'âge de dix ans, un professeur du Conservatoire de Paris lui recommande d'y étudier la musique, mais son père le lui interdit, estimant que ce n'est pas « convenable pour une fille de sa classe ». Il l'autorise cependant à étudier le piano, le violon et la composition en privé avec des membres de la faculté du Conservatoire. Elle commence à composer dès son plus jeune âge, en composant des pièces pour ses chats, ses chiens et ses poupées. À la fin des années 1870, le public de sa musique s'est considérablement élargi ; ses œuvres sont programmées dans toute la France, la Suisse, la Belgique et la Hollande. Dans la vingtaine, elle commence à faire des tournées et à donner des concerts de sa propre musique. En 1892, elle se produit à Londres, où elle est très applaudie. La reine Victoria aime sa musique et lui décerne une médaille du jubilé en 1897 ; le « Prélude pour orgue » de Chaminade est joué lors des funérailles de Victoria. Elle a également reçu des distinctions du Conservatoire d'Athènes et du sultan Abdul Hamid II de l'Empire ottoman. En 1908, elle a effectué une tournée de douze villes aux États-Unis, où sa musique était également très populaire. Malgré cette popularité de son vivant, Chaminade est tombée dans l'oubli après sa mort et n'est redécouverte que maintenant.

Le « Concertino pour flûte » en un seul mouvement, composé en 1902, est probablement l'œuvre la plus connue de Chaminade. Elle a été écrite à l'origine pour flûte solo et piano, puis arrangée pour flûte et orchestre. Une brève ouverture au piano introduit la pièce, menant à une mélodie lyrique qui est explorée dans une série de passages décoratifs, une section centrale animée et des cadences en solo apparaissent avant que les premiers accents lyriques ne reviennent pour clore la pièce. Pour décrire son propre style, Chaminade a écrit : « Je suis essentiellement de l'école romantique, comme le montre toute mon œuvre ».

Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942)

Pequeña Czarda

Pedro Iturralde est né à Falces, dans le nord de l'Espagne. Son frère Javier et lui commencent à étudier la musique avec leur père et, à l'âge de dix ans, Pedro joue du saxophone et de la clarinette dans l'orchestre de la ville de Falces. Après une brève tournée en tant que saxophoniste en dehors de l'Espagne, Iturralde, alors âgé de dix-huit ans, retourne chez lui pour étudier le saxophone, la clarinette, le piano, la guitare et la composition au Conservatoire royal de musique de Madrid. C'est là qu'à vingt ans, il a composé la Pequeña Czarda, l'une de ses pièces les plus populaires. En tant qu'interprète, il est devenu, avec son quartet, une attraction fréquente du Whisky Jazz Club de Madrid. Outre ses concerts de jazz, Iturralde a créé plusieurs compositions avec l'Orquesta Nacional de España et d'autres orchestres symphoniques espagnols, et a effectué de nombreuses tournées en tant que saxophoniste classique. En tant que compositeur, il est probablement plus connu pour l'intégration de la guitare flamenco dans la fusion jazz/classique. Il est retourné au Conservatoire royal de musique de Madrid en tant que professeur en 1978.

Iturralde a composé « Pequena Czarda » (« Petite danse »), une pièce virtuose pour saxophone et piano, en 1949. Comme la danse hongroise (czarda) dont elle reprend la forme, la pièce commence lentement, avec une sensualité langoureuse, puis passe à un tempo plus énergique de pas rapides. Après un bref interlude au piano, le saxophone exécute une cadence virtuose avant que la danse ne s'achève de manière énergique.

Notes de programme de Larry Bent

À propos des artistes

Valentin Kovalev, saxophone

Valentin Kovalev est un saxophoniste classique passionné et dévoué qui cherche à élever la voix du saxophone au sein de la musique classique.

Lauréat du plus prestigieux concours international, Valentin a également reçu d'importantes récompenses de fondations en France (Fondation pour la vocation), en Russie (Fondation Rostropovitch) et aux États-Unis (Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia). Sa carrière internationale comprend des représentations en tant que soliste aux États-Unis, en Russie, en France, en Andorre et en Asie. En 2021, il a rejoint l'équipe d'Astral Artists (Philadelphie) en tant que lauréat du concours national.

Valentin a récemment été nommé lauréat et a reçu le prix du public de la prestigieuse Concert Artists Guild, une organisation de gestion de la musique classique basée à New York.

En tant que récent lauréat du prestigieux concours de saxophone 2022 de la Naumburg Foundation, Valentin a donné un premier récital à guichets fermés au Carnegie Hall, où il présentera en première une pièce nouvellement commandée au compositeur Steven Mackey, lauréat d'un GRAMMY, au cours de la saison 2023-2024.

Éducateur actif, Valentin donne des masterclasses aux États-Unis, en Italie, en Andorre, en France, en Espagne et en Asie. Après avoir été professeur de saxophone à l'université Rowan dans le New Jersey, il se réjouit de devenir professeur invité au Cleveland Institute of Music. Valentin a également enregistré récemment une masterclass et un podcast pour la plateforme éducative en ligne AdLibitum Class.

Son parcours musical - de la Sibérie à l'étude du saxophone à Moscou, en passant par l'obtention d'un diplôme de premier cycle au prestigieux Conservatoire de Paris et d'une maîtrise à l'Université du Michigan - illustre à quel point la détermination et la passion peuvent dépasser les limites géographiques.

En août 2023, Valentin a eu l'honneur de rejoindre la célèbre violoniste de musique électronique de danse Lindsey Stirling sur scène à Portsmouth (Virginie), captivant un public de 6 000 personnes.

L'une des réalisations les plus remarquables de Valentin a été la création d'une communauté d'amateurs de musique sur ses plateformes de médias sociaux, dépassant collectivement les 100 000 adeptes sur Instagram, YouTube et TikTok. Cette solide présence en ligne lui permet de partager sa passion pour le saxophone, d'inspirer les autres et de favoriser l'épanouissement d'une communauté mondiale de passionnés de musique.

Valentin est un artiste Henri Selmer Paris et un artiste Conn-Selmer (États-Unis). Il est représenté par la Concert Artists Guild.

Ahmed Alom, piano

Ahmed Alom est un pianiste, compositeur et chef d'orchestre dont l'art fait le lien entre les traditions classiques et populaires, ce qui lui a valu d'être reconnu comme « l'un des artistes les plus polyvalents de l'hémisphère occidental » (Diario de Mallorca). Sa voix unique allie la rigueur et la structure de la formation classique à la richesse rythmique et harmonique de son héritage cubain, établissant ainsi des liens entre le passé et la musique d'aujourd'hui.

Les compositions d'Alom ont été interprétées par des musiciens de renommée mondiale, notamment Yuja Wang, qui a créé sa Displaced Etude No. 1 à la Philharmonie de New York. En tant que soliste, il s'est produit avec l'Orchestre symphonique de Baltimore, l'Orchestre symphonique d'Indianapolis, l'Orchestre de Louisville, le New World Symphony, l'Orquesta Filarmónica de México et le Britt Festival Orchestra. Il est également le plus jeune directeur artistique du Washington Square Music Festival, où il défend une programmation inclusive et innovante, créant des œuvres de Julian de la Chica, Dante Cucurullo et Dick Hyman, entre autres,

Profondément engagé dans la collaboration, Alom travaille dans tous les genres avec des artistes de premier plan tels que Michael League, Antonio Sánchez, Teddy Abrams, Steve Hackman, Miguel Zenón, Mark Dover, Brandon Ridenour et Pedrito Martinez. Son premier album, Exilio (2023), explore les thèmes du déplacement à travers les œuvres de six compositeurs hispaniques, dont le premier enregistrement complet des Four Intermezzos de Luis A. Calvo. Son trio de chambre, Triple Cortado- avec Caleb Hudson et Achilles Liarmakopoulos - mêle la virtuosité classique à de nouvelles œuvres contemporaines, tandis que son duo CrossCurrents avec Pedrito Martinez navigue à l'intersection de la musique afro-cubaine et des traditions classiques européennes.

Au-delà de la scène, Alom est un éducateur recherché, qui a donné des masterclasses et des conférences au Berklee College of Music, au San Francisco Conservatory, au Dartmouth College, au Peabody Institute et au National Jazz Museum de Harlem. Sa passion pour la musique nouvelle l'a amené à collaborer avec des compositeurs et des projets visionnaires, notamment avec Steve Hackman, le Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet et Doña Perón du Ballet Hispánico.

Né à Cuba, Alom a suivi une formation en piano et en percussion avant d'obtenir une licence en musique à la Manhattan School of Music sous la direction de Solomon Mikowsky. Il poursuit ses études de direction d'orchestre et de composition avec Ford Lallerstedt tout en développant activement ses collaborations artistiques dans le monde entier.