Lincoln Music Teacher is One of the Winners of a National Music Contest

Fabricio Gatta, an educator at our school since 1995, won second place in the category Música Académica. The work will premiere on November 18 at the Law School.

Fabricio Gatta, music teacher at Lincoln for 28 years, won second place at the National Music Contest 2023, the most important competition of its kind in Argentina. After participating with 1700 composers from all over the country, Fabricio got a prize for his work “Odisea”, in the category Música Académica 2023. Besides receiving 250,000 pesos from the Fondo Nacional de las Artes, his work will premiere on November 18 at the Law School. 

This annual competition, developed by the Fondo Nacional de las Artes, is just one of the many awards Fabricio has received as a composer and arranger. Throughout his career, he took part in national and international contests in Stuttgart, in Germany, Córdoba and Santa Fé, in Argentina, and Kavala, in Greece. 

He started his musical career at the age of 10: While going to the López Buchardo National Conservatory, he studied piano technique with the piano masters Noemí Berti and Miguel Ángel Pink. He also trained in the interpretation of Bach's music, with renowned pianist Rosalyn Tureck and studied arranging and composition in academic and popular music.  

During an interview, Fabricio shared his experience at the competition and explained how his role as a musician stimulates his work as an educator.  

There is always something new to learn and something new to teach. All experience, study, and training of a musician, an instrumentalist, arranger, composer, etc. is essential for the student's growth.

How was the creation of “Odisea”?

The winning work is a composition for bassoon and string orchestra consisting of three movements: I- Odyssey II- Morisquetas and III -Redemption. It is a work for a soloist, in this case, the main instrument is the bassoon and the string section, I and II violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. Each movement contains reminiscences of tango, waltz, and milonga.

The bassoon, historically, is a wooden aerophone instrument that has a serious record. I was always captivated by its dark and melancholic sound. A couple of years ago, I included this instrument in the recording of my works, in a CD called “Un tango para vos” for piano and bassoon. 

Teacher and musician, how do they complement each other?

On the one hand, sharing stages as a musician in different parts of the world and having my work performed by musicians from around the world in various countries such as Japan, Italy, Russia, France, Mexico, Canada, and Chile, makes me very happy, and increases my desire to continue perfecting myself when writing. 

On the other hand, being a teacher at Lincoln gives me the privilege of being a companion and colleague of many people from different parts of the world. It's a space where I nurture experiences and learning. Being a musician and a teacher goes hand in hand, they are closely related and feed off each other. There is always something new to learn and something new to teach. All experience, study, and training of a musician, an instrumentalist, arranger, composer, etc. are essential for the student's growth.

My work as a musician-teacher here at Lincoln continues and will continue to stimulate and accompany the students in everything they need for their development and learning.

What would be your advice to students who aspire to be musicians one day?

As a teacher, my premise with students is to encourage them to constantly practice instruments patiently, going slowly, and looking for ways to make it as natural and fun as possible. Schumann said: "Try to execute as well as possible easy works, you will thus obtain more benefits than executing mediocrely difficult compositions.”

During all these years at Lincoln, I have found students with great talent, creativity, sensitivity, and dedication. Many of them continued their musical studies at different universities and committed to carrying out their artistic careers. My work as a musician-teacher here at Lincoln continues and will continue to stimulate and accompany the students in everything they need for their development and learning.
 

CHECK OUT FABRICIO'S MUSIC ON SPOTIFY!