Renaldo Battaglia-Tomaschett

29.08.1949

Born in Henau canton St. Gallen, Renaldo Battaglia-Tomaschett attended primary and secondary school in Chur where he also trained as a primary and secondary school teacher. His first musical education was under Benedetg Dolf. He studied piano under Margrit Bachmann at the Zurich Academy of Music, improvisation and piano under Boris Mersson at the Zürich Conservatory and trained to gain the certificate 'Schulmusik II' at the Zurich School of Music and the University of Zurich. He received further training under Paul Forster (conducting), Boris Mersson (piano, composition, conducting) and Prof. Dr. Horst Coblenzer (breathing technique and voice training). He is employed as a music teacher for school music, voice, piano, clarinet, choir and orchestra at the county middle school of canton Uri. From 1990 until 1998 he was an honorary co-worker at the 'Orchestrades universelles' in Brive (France). He has conducted various choirs over the years including the singing-circle of Uri which he himself founded.
In 1991 He participated at the 'tonkünstlerfest' in kreuzlingen. 1990 saw the production of 'd'zyt' with speaking choir and text from Ruedi Geisser. He was conductor of the orchestra of the AML with three choirs and soloists for the jubilee concerts in Altdorf, Schwyz and Stans. He has multiple experience and expertise with federal and cantonal singing festivals. He participates regularly at the workshops of the 'Institutes für Neue Musik und Musikerziehung Darmstadt' (Institute for New Music and Musical Education in Darmstadt).
He presently conducts the 'collegium musicum', the student choir and the student orchestra in Uri. He is also a member of the project team for the 'Festival Alpentöne' where the piece 'Ursaxchord' was recorded and broadcast by Radio DRSII.
"The transference of the oscillations of nature and the moods of Man into music, and the formulation of theoretical concepts and their transformation musically form the basis of my work with the choir and orchestra. The main focus of my present musical work is centred on solo improvisations linked with traditional orchestra notation that is to say, a convergence of spontaneity and convention, an example of this is 'Ursaxchord'".